A  HISTORY 


OF   IHE 


YOUNG  MEI)|||    I 
CHRISTIAN  A%0 


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Cibrar;^  of  Che  theological  ^emmarjp 

PRINCETON  .  NEW  JERSEY 

FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

REVEREND  JOHN  ALEXANDER  MACKAY 
LITT.D.,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  L.H.D. 

.Pt3     . 

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C.l'.OKCi:   WILLIAMS  AT   THI".   ACl".   ol"    Tl  1 1  IM'V-FIVK 


HISTORY 

OF   THE 

YOUNG   MEN'S 
CHRISTIAN   ASSOCIATION 


PART  I 

THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION 
1844-1855 

PART  II 

THE  CONFEDERATION  PERIOD 

1855-1861 


BY/ 
LAURENCE  L.  DOGGETT,  Ph.  D. 

PRESIDENT,  INTERNATIONAL  YOUNG  MEn's   CHRISTIAN   ASSOCIATION 
COLLEGE,  SPRINGFIELD,  MASSACHUSETTS 


ASSOCIATION   PRESS 

New  YORK:  347  Madison  Ave. 
1922 


JAN   22  1990 


Copyright,  1922,  by 

The  International  Committee  ok 

YouNC,  Men's  Christian  Associations 

Printed  in  the  United  States  ok  America 


PREFATORY  NOTE  TO  VOLUME  I. 


This  first  volume  was  presented  as  a  thesis  in  the 
Department  of  Sociology  of  the  University  of  Leipsic, 
under  the  direction  of  Prof,  von  Miaskowski  in  1894. 
The  purpose  for  which  it  was  prepared  explains  its  scope 
without  further  comment. 

The  writer's  interest  in  the  history  of  the  Association 
grew  out  of  the  preparation  of  a  paper  on  the  history  of 
the  American  Movement,  read  before  the  "Ohio  Church 
History  Society,"  in  1892. 

Direct  work  upon  this  history  was  begun  in  August, 
1893.  In  gathering  material,  several  months  were  spent 
at  the  headquarters  of  the  American  Committee  at  New 
York,  in  the  library  of  the  American  International 
Committee  at  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  at  Exeter  Hall  in 
London.  Visits  have  been  made  to  the  conference  of 
the  German  Associations,  held  at  Eisenach,  in  October, 
1893  ;  the  World's  Convention  of  Associations  of  all 
lands,  at  London,  in  June,  1894 ;  to  the  headquarters 
of  the  German  National  Committee  at  Elberfeld,  the 
World's  Committee  at  Geneva,  and  the  local  Associa- 
tions at  a  variety  of  places,  especially  Berlin  and 
Paris.  From  the  libraries  at  Springfield,  New  York, 
London  and  Berlin,  I  have  been  kindly  loaned  reports 
and  records,  many  of  which  are  rare,  and  without 
which  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  gathered 
the  numerous  historical  data. 

Personal  interviews  have  been  held  with  many  of  the 
actors  in  the  Association's  history ;  especially  am  I  in- 
debted to  the  noble  Christian  man  whom  all  who  know 


4  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

this  movement  love  and  revere :  Sir  George  Williams, 
the  Father  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
The  friends  who  have  assisted  me  are  so  many,  a  com- 
plete list  cannot  be  given.  I  am  especially  under  obli- 
gation to  W.  Hind  Smith  and  W.  H.  Mills  of  London, 
to  Christian  Phildius  of  Berlin  and  H,  Helbing  of  Elber- 
feld,  to  S.  D.  Gordon,  R.  R.  McBurney  and  Richard  C. 
Morse,  and  Jacob  T.  Bowne  of  the  International  Train- 
ing School. 

This  theme  has  grown  into  a  work  much  beyond  my 
expectation.  I  hope  at  some  future  day,  if  this  volume 
meets  with  a  kindly  reception,  to  add  two  others  on  the 
second  and  third  periods  of  the  Association's  history. 

L.  L.  D. 
February,  1896. 


CONTENTS  FOR  PART  I, 


Chapter  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

PACE. 

Sec.    I— The  Study  of  Sociology 9 

Sec.    2 — Religion  as  a  Social  Force lo 

Sec.    3— Influence  of  the  Religion  of  Love  ou  Character  ....  11 

Sec.    4 — Religious  Institutions 12 

Sec.    5— Theme  and  Method M 

Chapter  II. 

BEGINNINGS   OK   THE    BRITISH   ASSOCIATION. 

Bee.    6 — Preparation  in  the  British  Churches 16 

Sec.    7— The  Industrial   Revolution 22 

Sec.    8— Origin  of  the  London  Association— Sir  George  Williams,  30 

Sec.    9 — From  the  Founding  to  November,  1845 41 

Sec.  10— Development  of  the  Parent  Association  (1845-1851)  .    .  55 

Sec.  II— Financial  History 72 

Sec.  12— Extension  of  the  Association  (1S45-1851) 75 

Sec.  13— Summary  of  the  Results  from  1844-1851 79 

Chapter  III. 

THE   AMERICAN   MOVEMENT. 

Sec.  14 — Preparation  in  the  American  Church  (1800-1851)    ...  81 

Sec.  15 — The  Industrial  Situation 97 

Sec.  16 — Founding  of  the  American  Association,  December,  1851, 

to  June,  1854 106 

Sec.  17— The  Confederation— William  Chauncy  Langdon  ....  12s 


6  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  IV. 

FOUNDING  OF  THE   CONTINENTAI.  ASSOCIATION. 

Sec.  i8— General  Conditions  on  the  Continent 141 

Sec.  19— Preparation  in  the  German  Church 143 

Sec.  20 — Social  Conditions  in  Germany 149 

Sec.  21 — Origin  of   the  Jiinglings-Vereine 152 

Sec.  22  — Geneva  and  Paris 162 

Sec.  23 — Summary 164 

Chapter  V. 

THE   FORMATION  OF  THE  W0RI,D'S  ALLIANCE. 

Sec.  24 — The  Paris  Convention 166 

Sec.  25 — Conclusion 179 

Appendices. 

Chronology  of  the  Association 183 

General  and  Association  Literature 186 


PART  I. 

THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE 
ASSOCIATION. 


The  Founding  of  the  Association. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Section  i. — The  Study  of  Sociology.^ 

The  thought  of  the  ancient  world  was  absorbed  in  the 
relation  of  man  to  nature  and  the  universe.  The  Greek 
philosophers  sought  for  an  explanation  of  the  physical 
world,  and  the  principles  underlying  existence.  They 
developed  the  study  of  Cosmology. 

The  Middle  Ages,  through  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity, became  absorbed  in  the  study  of  the  relation  of 
man  to  God.  The  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  that  God  is 
"Our  Father"  and  "  thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God, 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind,"  riveted  the  attention  of  men  and  devel- 
oped the  study  of  Theology ;  men  had  advanced  from  a 
study  of  the  universe  to  the  study  of  God. 

The  Reformation  and  the  Renaissance  shifted  the 
point  of  view :  men  have  not  ceased  to  study  nature  or 
God ;  they  have  perhaps  eclipsed  their  fathers,  but 
more  and  more  the  modern  world  is  devoting  itself  to 
the  study  of  the  relation  of  man  to  man  ;  the  study  of 
society  or  Sociology — man  in  organized  relationships. 

^  Erdman's  History  of  Philosophy ;  Hough's  English  translation  ; 
MacMillan  &  Co.,  N.  Y.,  3rd  Edition,  1892.  Sec.  259  "outline"  in 
3rd  Vol.  by  Prof.  H.  C.  King:  Richard  Ely's  "Social  Aspects  oT 
Christianity."     Chap.  I. 


10  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIOl^. 

The  saying  of  Jesiis  Christ,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,"  is  being  placed  beside  his  teaching 
of  love  to  God. 

Sec.  2. — Religion  as  a  Social  Force.- 

The  two  fundamental  principles  on  which  human  so- 
ciety, not  the  ideal  society,  but  present  society  is 
organized,  are  self-interest  and  altruism.  Spencer, 
Drummond  and  Kidd,  however  much  they  disagree  in 
the  application  of  these  two  principles,  practically  rec- 
ognize them.  "  Egoism  "  and  "Altruism,"  the  "  struggle 
for  life,"  and  "  the  struggle  for  the  life  of  others,"  are 
different  names  for  the  same  thing,  Drummond  makes 
these  two  principles  evolve  side  by  side.  Kidd  makes 
society  the  resultant  of  a  continued  warfare  between 
them.  He  holds  that  reason  dictates  the  pursuit  of 
one's  own  interests,  and  religion  through  the  conscience 
dictates  that  men  should  have  regard  for  the  interests 
of  others.  He  thus  recognizes  religion  as  a  social  force. 
Spencer  tries  to  ignore  it.  Professor  Marshall,  practi- 
cally in  the  same  way  with  Benjamin  Kidd,  places 
religion  in  contrast  with  self-interest  when  he  says, 
*'  The  two  great  forming  agencies  of  the  w^orld's  history 
have  been  the  religious  and  the  economic." 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  treatise  to  discuss  the 
manner  in  which  religion  has  usually  been  treated  as  a 
social  force,  but  to  present  an  example  of  the  way  in 
which  the  Christian  religion  operates  as  a  factor  in  socie- 
ty. Men  are  born  with  both  the  egoistic  and  the  altruis- 
tic instinct.  The  Christian  religion  does  not  create 
either.  It  is  natural  for  parents  to  love  their  children, 
and  friends  their  friends.  It  is  also  natural  for  men  to 
seek  their  own  interests.     Society  may  at  present,  as 

2  "Social  Evolution,"  Benjamin  Kidd,  MacMillan  &  Co.,  N.  Y., 
1894.  "Ascent  of  Man,"  Henry  Drummond;  Hodder,  London,  1894. 
"  Principles  of  Economics,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  i.,  Prof.  Marshall. 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

Benjamin  Kidd  holds,  be  the  result  of  a  struggle  between 
these  two  forces,  but  the  Christian  religion  is  gradually 
harmonizin'g  the  two,  by  a  proper  recognition  of  both. 
It  seeks  to  control  both  forces  and  establish  a  proper 
equilibrium  between  the  two  on  the  principle  laid  down 
by  Jesus  Christ,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self." Egoism  is  regard  only  for  self;  altruism  is  re- 
gard only  for  others ;  loi'e  is  a  proper  regard  for  both 
one's  own  interest  and  the  interests  of  others. 

Christianity  is  the  greatest  of  social  forces  because  it 
is  the  religion  of  equal  love  between  man  and  man. 

Sec.  3. — Influence  of  the  Religion  of  Love  on 
Character. 

Benjamin  Kidd  points  out  that  the  superiority  of  one 
race  over  another  consists  not  in  intellect,  but  in  the 
possession  of  the  moral  qualities  of  virtue,  steadfastness, 
integrity  and  self-mastery.  He  shows  successfully  that 
these  qualities,  and  not  intellectual  gifts,  have  deter- 
mined the  survival  and  supremacy  of  nations  and  races. 
Paul  teaches  that  love  (Galatians  5:  22)  is  the  foun- 
dation stone  on  which  these  moral  qualities  rest.  Love 
makes  men  honest  towards  their  fellows ;  love  is  the 
source  of  self-sacrifice  ;  the  mainspring  of  true  virtue ; 
the  inspiration  of  valor;  the  highest  incentive  to 
achievement,  and  to  what  Paul  and  Spencer^  alike  place 
as  the  cap-stone  of  virtue,  self-mastery  or  self-control. 

I  do  not  wish  here  to  discuss  the  relation  of  man  to 
God  or  to  the  future  life,  but  to  insist  that  when  a  man 
becomes  a  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  and  endeavors  to 
love  his  fellow  men  as  himself,  he  becomes  a  new  factor 
in  society.  His  relation  to  the  family,  the  State,  the 
economic  world,  and  all  human  life  are  governed  no 
longer  by  the  principles  of  self-interest  or  altruism,  but 

^"Principles  of  Sociology-,"  Herbert  Spencer;  Third  Edition, 
Appleton  &  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1891,  Vol.  I.,  Chap.  VL 


12  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

a.  new  principle  has  liarmonized  both — equal  love  to 
himself  and  his  fellow  men. 

The  religion  of  love  works  at  the  foundation  of  so- 
ciety because  it  forms  character  in  individuals.  It  is  a 
primal  social  force.  Henri  Amiel  has  recognized  its 
relation  to  society  when  he  says:  "Society  rests  upon 
conscience  ;  not  upon  science ;  civilization  is  first  and 
foremost  a  moral  thing ;  without  honesty,  without  re- 
spect for  law,  without  the  worship  of  duty,  without  the 
love  of  one's  neighbor,  in  a  word,  without  virtue,  the 
whole  is  menaced  and  falls  into  decay.  The  ultimate 
ground  upon  which  every  civilization  rests  is  the  aver- 
age morality  of  the  masses,  and  a  sufficient  amount  of 
practical  righteousness."  * 

The  principle  of  love  which  harmonizes  the  egoistic 
and  altruistic  forces  in  man,  and  thus  builds  character, 
the  foundation  of  society,  has  taken  of  necessity  the 
next  step  and  seeks  to  guide  men's  actions.  The  re- 
ligion of  love  not  only  shapes  the  actions  of  those  who 
have  accepted  it,  but  it  is  constantly  creating  a  public 
sentiment,  a  tradition  of  conduct,  so  to  speak,  which 
guides  the  movements  of  society. 

The  ideal  society  which  fulfills  its  functions  on  the 
principle  of  love  between  man  and  man  may  seem  un- 
attainable, but  it  is  this  power  of  love  which  has  abol- 
ished slavery,  mitigated  war,  and  which  for  centuries 
has  been  diminishing  class  and  hereditary  privileges. 
It  is  the  practical  side  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  and  it 
is  working  today  with  unabated  power.  The  religion 
of  love  is  a  fundamental  social  force,  because  it  moulds 
men's  character  and  governs  their  conduct. 

Sec.  4. — Religious  Institutions. 
Like  all  great  sociological  forces,  religion  founds  in- 

*  Amiel's  "Journal,"  Mrs.  Humphrey  Ward's  English  translation, 
London,  1893,  Vol.  XL,  p.  86. 


INTRODUCTION.  J  3 

stitutions  to  fulfill  its  mission.  The  political,  economic, 
educational  and  social  forces  of  society  have  estab- 
lished powerful  agencies  which  act  with  far-reaching 
consequences.  The  institution  established  by  its  found- 
er to  fulfill  the  mission  of  the  Christian  religion  is  the 
Christian  Church.  In  connection  with  what  is  popularly 
comprehended  under  this  term,  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ  has  built  up  a  vast  net-work  of  agencies,  differ- 
ently managed  at  various  periods  of  Christian  history, 
but  adapted  as  completely  as  the  resources  at  hand  and 
the  circumstances  of  the  times  would  permit,  to  fulfill 
the  great  mission  before  it. 

A  multitude  of  organizations,  institutions  and  estab- 
lishments, under  the  centralized  authority  of  the  Pope, 
such  as  cloisters,  schools  of  learning,  monastic  orders 
and  alms  houses,  were  established  by  the  Church  of 
Rome  in  the  middle  ages,  as  a  direct  expression  of  the 
religion  of  love. 

Mr.  Ingram,  in  his  history  of  Economic  Science, 
speaks  thus  :  *'  Catholic  Christianity  brought  out  more 
forcibly  and  presented  more  persistently  the  higher 
aims  of  life,  and  so  produced  a  more  elevated  way  of 
viewing  social  relations.  It  purified  domestic  life,  a  re- 
form which  has  the  most  important  economic  results. 
It  taught  the  doctrine  of  fundamental  human  equality ; 
heightened  the  dignity  of  labor,  and  preached  with 
quite  a  new  emphasis  the  obligation  of  love,  compassion 
and  forgiveness,  and  the  claims  of  the  poor.  To  the 
influence  of  Christianity  as  a  moral  doctrine  was  added 
that  of  the  church,  as  an  organization,  charged  with  the 
application  of  that  doctrine  to  men's  daily  transac- 
tions." 

As  the  various  sociological  forces  extend  their  influ- 
ence, the  organizations  of  society  increase  in  intricacy 
and  complexity.  The  progress  of  religion  illustrates 
this  law.     The  organizations  of  the  early  church  were 


14  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

simple,  compared  with  the  ramified  agencies  of  modern 
Protestantism.  The  more  vital  and  vigorous  spiritual 
forces  are,  the  more  completely  they  lay  hold  of  the 
classes  of  society,  and  the  diflferent  departments  of  life. 
The  Christian  religion  is  a  primal  social  force,  be- 
cause it  begets  love  between  man  and  man,  and  thus 
moulds  human  character  and  directs  human  conduct. 
In  order  to  accomplish  this  practical  side  of  its  mission 
it  founds  such  institutions  as  the  changing  circum- 
stances of  the  race  demand. 

Sec.  5. — Theme  and  Method. 

The  object  of  this  thesis  is  to  show  the  operation  of 
this  social  force  in  one  of  the  most  important  spheres  of 
life — young  manhood.  One  of  the  remarkable  institu- 
tions established  by  the  Christian  Church  is  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  It  is  desired  to  show,  first, 
the  way  in  which  the  spirit  of  Christian  love  has 
created  this  institution,  and  second,  to  measure  as  truly 
as  possible  its  influence  and  significance.  In  discuss- 
ing its  development,  I  have  tried  to  bear  in  mind  that  it 
is  an  expression  of  a  spiritual  and  religious  force,  and 
have  sought  to  give  a  true  picture  of  the  motives,  as- 
pirations and  forces  which  have  guided  it.  They  are 
distinctively  religious. 

Doctrine,  polity  and  the  relation  to  the  organized 
church  are  discussed  only  so  far  as  these  afiect  the 
constitution  of  the  organization  and  the  character  and 
conduct  of  its  members. 

In  order  to  measure  the  influence  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  we  must  understand  first, 
the  nature  of  the  religious  forces  which  produced  it,  and 
second,  the  social  environment  which  has  made  such  a 
movement  necessary'.  We  must  study  the  cause  and 
the  occasion. 

Geographically^  the  Association  has  developed  three 


IXrRODUCTIOS\  15 

types  of  life,  each  type  in  the  main  being  determined 
by  the  conditions  which  surround  it.  These  three 
types  of  Association  life  are  the  Anglo-American,  the 
Continental  (European),  and  the  Missionary.  The 
Association  is  an  International  Evangelical  Institution, 
and  reflects  the  condition  of  Protestantism  in  the  differ- 
ent sections  of  the  world.  As  contrasted  with  Roman- 
ism, a  fundamental  characteristic  of  the  Protestant 
Church  is  freedom.  It  rests  on  individual  consent;  it 
aims  at  the  development  of  the  individual,  and  seeks 
to  influence  society  and  the  state  mainly  through  the 
individual.  While  freedom  is  its  general  characteristic, 
the  conditions  of  Protestantism  on  the  continent  of 
Europe  are  so  different  from  those  which  prevail  in 
English-speaking  countries,  and  further,  the  conditions 
in  non-Christian  lands  are  so  diverse  from  those  in  lands 
that  are  denominated  Christian,  that  it  is  necessary  to 
treat  separately  the  three  types  of  Association  life. 

Chronologically,  Association  history  is  divided  into 
three  periods: 

(i)     Introduction  of  the  Association  idea.     1844-1855. 

(2)  The  development  of  Association  methods.  1855- 
1878. 

(3)  Wide    extension    of    the    movement.     1878-192 2. 
The    chronological   method    has   been   chosen   as   the 

basis  of  treatment,  combining  with  it  the  topical  and 
the  geographical,  but  the  movements  in  different  coun- 
tries will  be  presented  only  so  far  as  may  be  necessary 
to  get  a  true  perspective.  This  thesis  is  limited  to  the 
first  period  1844  to  1855. 


CHAPTER  11. 

BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION. 

vSec.  6. — Preparation  in  the  British  Churches. 

The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  Protestantism  in 
each  of  the  great  sections  of  the  Protestant  world, 
Continental  Europe,  Great  Britain  and  America,  grows 
out  of  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  State.  Conti- 
nental Protestantism  is  marked  by  the  union,  almost 
the  subjection,  of  the  Church  to  the  government.  In 
Germany,  dissenters  number  half  a  million — a  mere 
handful  of  the  population.  In  Great  Britain,  the  people 
are  almost  equally  divided  upon  this  question,  whilst 
America  affords  the  example  of  a  free  church. 

We  consider  first  the  nation  where  conviction  on  this 
question  is  in  one  form  or  another  the  prominent  factor 
in  determining  church  relationship — England,  the  soul 
of  Protestantism,  the  home  of  the  Anglican  Church,  of 
Puritanism  and  of  Wesleyanism. 

The  religious  forces  at  work  in  England  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century  may  be  traced  directly  to  the 
Reformation,  as  represented  by  the  Established  Church  ; 
to  the  Puritan  or  Dissenting  movement,  as  represented 
by  the  Independents,  Presbyterians  and  Baptists,  bod- 
ies which  have  been  most  active  in  advocating  the 
separation  of  the  church  from  the  State  ;  and  to  the 
Wesleyan  Revival  of  the  i8th  century,  as  represented 
by  the  Methodists.  Christians  were  generally  desig- 
nated with  reference  to  their  attitude  toward  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  as  either  churchmen  or  non-conformists. 
Churchmen  gradually  became  divided  into  three  parties 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRIflSII  ASSOCIATION.      17 

— "  High  Church,"  "  Low  Church  "  or  "  Evangelical," 
and  "  Broad  Church  "  or  "  Liberals." 

The  "  Evangelicals  "  were  largely  descendants  of  the 
Puritan  and  Wcsleyan  Revivals,  who  remained  within 
the  Established  Church.  The  "  Evangelicals  "  and  the 
*'  Non-Conformists,"  while  differing  widely  on  questions 
affecting  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  State,  were 
gradually  approaching  a  platform  on  which  they  could 
act  together  with  regard  to  great  matters  of  social  and 
moral  reform.  Romanism  need  not  be  considered  in 
this  discussion,  as  Roman  Catholics  number  but  four 
per  cent,  of  the  population  in  Great  Britain  in  1800. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  century,  religion  was  at  a 
sadly  low  ebb  all  over  the  Protestant  world.  Religious 
life  in  England  was  feeble.  War,  infidelity,  the  Indus- 
trial Revolution,  and  other  causes  had  rendered  large 
multitudes  indifferent  to  spiritual  things. 

Bishop  Burgess  wrote  of  the  Welsh  See  of  St.  David 
(1803) ;  "The  churches  and  ecclesiastical  buildings  are  in 
a  ruinous  condition.  Many  of  the  clergy  are  incom- 
petently educated  and  disgrace  their  profession  by 
inebriety  and  other  degrading  vices." 

"  Clergymen  often  occupied  several  livings  and  neg- 
lected them  all.  Bishops,  as  a  rule,  were  not  in  position 
to  be  overstrict,  as  some  of  their  own  body  were  the 
most  glaring  offenders."  '" 

"  At  the  beginning  of  the  century  the  number  of 
churches  built  and  rebuilt  (Church  of  England)  aver- 
aged only  three  in  a  year."  *^  In  1S14,  John  Bowdler 
wrote:  "  Not  a  tenth  part  of  the  Church  of  England 
population  in  the  west  and  east  parts  of  the  metropolis, 
and  the  populous  parts  of  Middlesex,  can  be  accommo- 
dated in  our  churches  and  chapels.     Over  950,000  per- 

^  Overton's  "History  of  the  Church  of  England  in  19th  Century," 
page  7. 

^  Cutts'  "  Turning  Points  of  Church  Historj',"  page  316. 


18  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

sons  in  London  are  left  without  the  possibility  of  paro- 
chial worship.  The  want  of  church  accommodation  is 
more  noticeable  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom."  In 
1824,  Islington  had  30,000  inhabitants,  and  only  one 
church  and  one  chapel.  Evidence  exists  of  almost 
equal  lethargy  on  the  part  of  the  various  non-conformist 
bodies. 

The  battle  of  Waterloo  closed  a  series  of  struggles 
which  for  years  had  absorbed  the  life  and  energy  of 
England.  With  the  year  1815,  attention  began  to  be 
directed  with  renewed  vigor  to  home  policy  in  politics, 
business  and  religion.  The  whole  Protestant  world 
was  emerging  from  under  the  shadow  of  the  great 
Napoleonic  conflicts. 

The  tvv'o  religious  parties   which   did   most   at  this 
period  to  vitally  influence  the  life  of  England  were  the 
"  Evangelicals "   in  the   Established   Church   and   the 
Non-Conformists.      The    "  Evangelicals  "   emphasized 
belief  in  essentials,  piety,  practical  charity  and  Christian 
work.     They  minimized  ceremonies  and  the  doctrine  of 
the  church.     Overton  says  :      "  They  were  the  salt  of 
the  earth  in  their  day.     It  may  be  said  generally  that 
during   the    first   quarter  of  the  centur}'  there  was  a 
marked   increase  in  the  strength  of  the    Evangelical 
party  until  it  became  beyond  all  question  the  dominant 
spiritual  power  in  the  Church  of  England."     John  Tul- 
Igch  says  :     "  Evangelicalism  was  in  short  the  only  type  I 
of  aggressive  religion  then  (1820-30)  or  for  some  time 
prevailing,  although  its  aggressiveness  was  more  of  a 
practical  than  an  intellectual  kind."      Such  leaders  as 
Charles   Simeon   of  Cambridge,  William  Wilberforce, 
the  Seventh  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  and  the  brilliant  Han-/ 
nail  More  were  its  chiefs.     "  They  founded  the  Church  v 
Missionary  Society,  the  great  British  and  Foreign  Bible  r 
Society,  and  the  India  Episcopate.      They  were  espe-  \ 
cially  strong  in  the  cities." 


BEGIXN/NGS  /F  THE  BR FTrSFI  ASSOC! ATFON.      1"^ 

Through  the  influence  of  these  two  great  parties,  the 
Evangelicals  and  the  Dissenters,  an  immense  activity 
in  Christian  efTort  began  in  England.  Slavery  was 
abolished  in  1833,  countless  agencies,  such  as  ragged 
schools,  tract  societies,  city  missions,  mechanics'  insti- 
tutes, Sunday  Schooj  and  foreign  mission  societies 
were  either  organized  or  so  enlarged  in  their  activities 
as  to  become  efficient.  From  this  period  dates  the  be- 
ginning of  most  of  the  ^reat  religious  societies,  also  the 
great  religious  periodicals  and  journals,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  cheap  Christian  literature.  In  1818,  Parlia- 
ment voted  one  million  pounds  for  church  erection  ;  in 
1830,  there  was  an  average  of  forty  churches  a  year 
erected  by  the  Church  of  England  alone.  In  1827,  Will- 
iam Wilberforce  expressed  himself  as  "highly  gratified 
with  the  opening  prospect,"  and  he  says,  "  I,  who  knew 
the  aspect  of  things  forty  years  ago,  can  add,  with  the 
highly  improved  state  of  the  clergy." 

The  Evangelicals  have  always  been  on  the  side  of 
popular  reform,  and  have  devoted  their  energies  to  up- 
lifting all  classes  of  society.  Bishop  Hurst,  writing  in 
1865,  says  of  this  party:  "It  has  sought  out  the  popu- 
lation of  the  factories  and  mines  of  England  and  ad- 
dressed itself  to  the  relief  of  their  cramped  and  stifled  in- 
mates. It  has  reorganized  ragged  schools  and  endeavored 
to  reach  all  the  suffering  classes  of  the  Kingdom.  At  the 
commencement  of  its  public  career  it  founded  the  CKiif  ch 
Klissionary  Society  (1800)  and  the  Bible  Society,  which 
has  translated  the  Scriptures  into  one  hundred  and  fifty 
languages,  and  distributes  two  million  copies  annually. 
Archbishop  Sumner  founded  the  first  Diocesan  Church 
Building  Society  in  1828.  The  Pastoral  Aid  Society, 
founded  in  1836,  by  its  lay  and  clergical  employees,  is 
now  (1865)  ministering  to  three  million  souls.  The 
Low  Churchmen  have  established  in  needy  localities, 
Sunday    Schools,    Infant    Schools,    Libraries,    Benefit 


20  YOUNG  MEN'S , CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Societies,  Clothing  Clubs  and  Circles  of  Scripture 
Readers.  They  seek  out  the  abandoned  and  hopeless 
wretches  in  the  darkest  sinks  of  London,  reading  the 
Bible  to  them,  clothing,  finding  work,  and  training 
them  to  self-respect."^  In  the  blaze  of  this  devotion, 
the  "  fox-hunting  parson  "  and  "the  absentee  rector" 
of  the  i8th  century  became  an  impossibility. 

Religion  had,  to  some  extent,  shifted  its  point  of  view 
and  ceased  to  be  so  much  a  matter  of  doctrine  or 
churchmanship,  as  a  matter  of  practical  life  and  help- 
fulness between  man  and  man.  The  new  movement 
did  not  pause  to  demonstrate  its  position  by  syllogisms 
or  formulas,  biit  it  made  a  new  ideal  to  shine  before  the 
eyes  of  men,  in  the  light  of  which  minor  differences 
were  forgotten. 

In  an  address  before  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  1855, 
Rev.  T.  R.  Birks  said:  "Pious  Christians  have  had 
their  intellectual  horizons  enlarged,  and  have  fixed 
their  thoughts  more  strongly  on  the  humanizing  and 
social  aspect  of  Christianity."  This  subsidence  of  doc- 
trinal discussion  and  absorption  in  practical  work  is  of 
great  moment  to  our  subject.  Creeds  divide,  service 
unites.  It  indicates  two  aspirations  of  the  early  part  of 
the  century,  which  reveal  the  beating  heart  of  Christian 
love,  and  which  were  an  essential  preparation  for  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

j     First,  a  growing  interest  in  practical  Christian  work, 

I  and     second,    the   willingness   of   denominations   and 

"iparties  to  co-operate  in  service.     A  third  advance  must 

also  be  noticed:     Christians  were  forming  the  habit  of 

organizing  in  order  to  carry  out  common  enterprises. 

In  the  midst  of  this  period,  and  in  spite  of  the  grow- 
ing spirit  of  unity,  a  violent  agitation  against  the  Es- 
tablished Church  broke  out,  which  so  aroused  the 
friends  of  the  church  as  to  produce  what  is  known  as 

'  "Hurst's  History  of  Rationalism,"  page  509. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.     21 

the  Oxford  or  Anglo-Catholic  Movement,  called  by  its 
friends,  the  Church  Revival.  It  was  really  of  political 
origin.  The  advocates  of  the  Reform  Bill,  passed  in 
1832,  were  pronounced  opponents  of  establishment. 
"  The  Reform  Bill  gave  great  power  to  just  that  class 
which  was  most  hostile  to  the  Established  Church,  and 
most  favorable  to  dissent,  not  the  higher  or  the  lower, 
but  the  middle  classes."^ 

Dr.  Stoughton  sa}'s :  "  I  question  whether  in  the 
present  day  any  attacks  on  any  institution  are  to  be 
compared  in  bitterness  with  those  in  reference  to  the 
Established  Church  between  1820  and  1830.'"'  The 
High  Church  Party,  under  the  leadership  of  Newman 
and  Pusey,  in  1833,  sprang  to  the  rescue,  and  inaugu- 
rated a  revival  of  high  churchmanship,  which,  while  it 
resulted  in  a  revolt  to  the  Church  of  Rome  of  some  one 
hundred  clergymen  and  many  laymen,  restored  the 
piety  of  the  Established  Church  and  its  hold  upon  a 
large  section  of  the  English  people.  The  Tractarians, 
as  the  High  Churchmen  were  called,  emphasized  the 
ritual  and  the  sacraments.  They  taught  that  the  epis- 
copacy was  of  divine  appointment,  and  dissent  was 
separation  from  the  body  of  Christ.  The  High  Church 
movement  was  not  in  sympathy  with  sucli  an  enterprise 
as  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  This  should 
be  borne  in  mind,  as  it  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  the 
Association  Movement  in  England  has  not  received 
such  unanimous  encouragement  or  achieved  as  abun- 
dant success  as  in  America. 

The  numerical  strength  of  religious  parties  in  Eng- 
land at  the  time  of  the  founding  of  the  Association  may 
be  seen  from  the  census  of  1851,  the  year  of  the  great 
exhibition  at  London ;  the  population  was  then  over 
eighteen  millions ;  6,000,000  of  whom  by  youth,  sickness 

'  Overton,  p.  312. 

'  Overton,  "  English  Church  in  XIX  Century,"  p.  311. 


22  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

or  age,  were  not  in  condition  to  attend  church.  The 
worshipers  in  the  Established  Church  were  estimated  at 
4,100,000;  in  dissenting  bodies,  3,400,000;  non-wor- 
shipers, about  4,100,000.  The  places  of  worship  con- 
nected with  the  Established  Church  were  14,077,  with  a 
seating  capacity  of  4,800,000.  Dissenters  owned  20,390 
places  of  worship,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  3,600,000. 

Mr.  Birks  estimates  the  High  Church,  Evangelical 
and  Broad  Church  parties  in  the  Established  Church  at 
this  time  (185 1)  to  be  about  equally  divided,  with  proba- 
bly 6,000  clergymen  each.  Fully  two-thirds  of  the  re- 
ligious strength  of  England  was  in  the  non-conformist 
bodies  and  the  Evangelical  party  of  the  Established 
Church  at  the  middle  of  the  present  century.  They 
represented  the  aspiration,  the  spiritual  life,  the  Chris- 
tian zeal,  the  philanthropy  and  evangelical  fire  of  England. 

The  spiritual  preaching  of  the  dissenters  and  the  zeal 
of  the  Evangelicals  were  the  religious  forces  of  the 
kingdom,  which  were  ready  to  grapple  with  the  new 
difficulties  presented  by  an  unparalleled  revolution  in 
the  industrial  life  of  the  people.  The  High  Church 
party  and  the  Liberals  alike  have  had  a  noble  work  to 
do  in  this  century,  not  always  understood  by  their 
rivals,  but  to  the  Dissenters  and  Evangelicals  belong 
the  organizing  and  manning  of  the  agencies  (of  which 
the  Association  is  one)  that  were  called  into  being  to 
save  industrial  England.  From  them  came  the  money, 
the  men,  the  sympathy  and  the  courage  to  make  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  a  success. 

Sec.  7. — The  Industrial  Revolution. 

While  these  changes  (1800-1850)  which  breathed 
new  life  into  English  Christianity  were  in  progress,  a 
new  social  era  was  dawning.  The  Protestant  world 
was  changing  its  habit  of  life.  The  industrial  age,  with 
scarcely  a  note  of  warning,  was  beginning.      The  pro- 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.     23 

foundest  sociological  fact  of  modern  times  is  that  tlie 
civilized  world  is  leaving  the  country  to  live  in  the  city. 
The  magnet  of  the  city  is  an  irresistible  force.  The 
race  is  becoming  urban.  We  will  not  repeat  here  the 
oft-told  tale  of  the  rise  of  the  city  except  so  far  as  is 
necessary  to  show  that  it  is  the  modern  fact  which  occa- 
sioned the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

Without  the  rise  of  the  city,  the  parlors,  gymnasiums, 
reading  rooms,  educational  classes,  halls,  Bible  studies, 
religious  meetings, — the  vast  organization  of  half  a  mill- 
ion young  men,  with  its  secretaries,  directors,  com- 
mittees, costly  build? ngs  and  mign^^^'  inriuence  would 
never  have  been  born.  Tb*-  As.^ociation  movement 
was  founded  by  a  'o'irg  man  who  moved  from  the 
country  to  thf  ■:^y^' .  It  was  founded  primarily  for  young 
men  living  a'  ay  from  home  in  cities  ;  without  the  wide 
extent  of  \\.-t  city  it  would  have  remained  simply  a 
London  institution,  and  never  have  become  a  world- 
wide organization.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation is  a  nineteenth  century  enterprise.  It  has  the 
flavor  of  modern  times  ;  it  is  a  city  product.  Its  busi- 
ness methods,  its  enterprise,  its  intensity,  its  weaknesses, 
too,  of  superficiality  and  haste,  all  bear  the  stamp  of  its 
city  origin.  To  understand  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations,  we  must  understand  the  modern  city. 

Self-protection,  government,  commerce  and  pleasure, 
built  the  cities  of  past  centuries.  The  force  that  draws 
men  into  modern  cities  is  wealth.  The  startling  fact  is 
that  just  as  many  people  live  in  cities  to-day  as  can 
make  a  living  in  them.  This  is  the  law  of  city  growth. 
It  is  as  inflexible  as  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians. 
It  is  their  only  limitation.  Loomis,  in  his  volume, 
"  Modern  Cities,"  shows  that  the  cost  of  living  alone 
regulates  city  population.  ^"^ 

1°  Loomis'  "Modern  Cities,"  page  35.  Shaw's  "Municipal 
Government  in  Great  Britain."     New  York,  1895. 


24  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIOA. 

The  Struggle  with  disease,  poverty  and  famine  shriv- 
elled the  size  of  ancient  cities,  and  only  a  Rome,  where 
bread  was  distributed  by  the  government,  or  a  Babylon^ 
where  food  was  raised  within  the  walls,  could  support  a 
million  inhabitants.  The  discovery  of  almost  unlimited 
means  of  increasing  production,  and  the  development 
of  rapid  transportation,  has  produced  the  modern  city. 
Manufacture  describes  it  in  a  single  word.  Commerce 
has  been,  and  is  a  source  of  wealth,  but  manufacture  is 
the  chief  Machinery  made  manufacture  possible,  man- 
ufacture produced  wealth,  and  wealth  has  produced  the 
modern  city.  With  all  its  commerce,  two-thirds  of  the 
population  of  New  York  are  engaged  in  some  form  of 
manufacturing,  and  probably  an  equal  proportion  of  the 
millions  of  London. 

The  possibility  of  this  great  increase  in  wealth  has 
arisen  through  the  invention  of  machinery.  In  1788, 
Watt  invented  the  steam  engine,  and  the  industrial 
revolution  began.  "  In  the  discovery  of  the  steam 
engine,  the  mother  of  machines,  may  be  found  the 
central  reason  for  the  growth  of  our  nineteenth  century 
cities."^ 

A  variety  of  agencies  contributed  to  the  industrial 
revolution  in  England.  "  In  1776,  Adam  Smith  pub- 
lished his  '  Wealth  of  Nations.'  "  This  overthrew  the 
Mercantile  Theory,  which  held  that  national  pros- 
perity ■could  only  be  secured  at  the  expense  of  neigh- 
boring States,  and  advocated  industrial  freedom.  "Al- 
ready in  1762,  the  Bridgewater  canal,  the  first  joint  of  a 
net-work  of  inland  water  communication  was  opened. 
In  1767,  Hargreaves  introduced  the  spinning  jenny; 
Arkwright's  spinning  machine  was  exhibited  in  1768  ; 
Crompton's  mule  was  finished  in  1779  ;  Cartwright  hit 
upon  the  idea  of  the  power  loom  in  1784;  the  Stafford- 
shire potteries  date  from  1763." 

'  I^oomis'  "  Modern  Cities,"  page  42. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRmSII  ASSOCIATION.      25 

111  1786,  a  new  commercial  treaty  stimulated  trade  be- 
tween England  and  France.  Between  1800  and  1830,  the 
year  the  first  railroad  was  operated,  a  thousand  inven- 
tions by  the  application  of  steam  increased  the  means 
of  production,  and  began  to  pile  up  the  wealth  of  the 
civilized  world,  until  Mr.  Gladstone  declares  "  that  the 
amount  of  wealth  which  could  be  handed  down  to  pos- 
terity produced  during  the  first  eighteen  hundred  years 
of  the  Christian  era  was  equalled  by  the  production  of 
the  first  fifty  years  of  this  century."-  He  adds,  "  that 
an  equal  amount  was  produced  between  the  years  i860 
and  1875.  In  1770,  the  income  of  Great  Britain  was 
£119,500,000;  in  1889  (including  Ireland),  it  reached  the 
enormous  sum  of  £1,285,000,000,  and  the  estimated 
wealth   of  the    United    Kingdom   was    £9,400,000,000. 

With  this  increase  in  production  has  come  the  won- 
derful development  and  cheapening  of  rapid  transit  by 
the  application  of  steam,  and  more  recently,  electricity. 
The  world  has  increased  its  pace.  In  1807,  Robert  Ful- 
ton operated  the  first  steamboat ;  in  1830,  there  were 
cargoes  of  24,000,000  tons  carried  by  water ;  1889,  the 
water  freights  were  139,000,000  tons.  Since  1829,  the 
miles  of  railroad  have  reached  354,300  in  Christendom, 
while  the  aggregate  investment  in  the  railroad  carrying 
trade  represents  £5,736,000,000.  In  1780,  it  cost  £13  to 
carry  a  ton  of  freight  from  London  to  Leeds.  Flour  is 
now  carried  to  London  from  Chicago  at  the  rate  of  33s. 
per  ton,  and  from  San  Francisco  by  water  for  30s. ^ 

These  mighty  agencies  have  increased  production, 
cheapened  food,  and  have  given  the  opportunity  for 
great  multitudes  to  support  themselves  by  factory  labor 
in  cities. 

Coincident  with  this  increased  opportunity  for  em- 
ployment in  the  city,   there  has  been  a  corresponding 

'  "  Our  Country,"  J.  Strong,  page  115. 
'  See  Munhall's  Statistics,  1892. 


26  i  OUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

decrease  of  demand  for  labor  in  the  country.  The  in- 
vention of  machinery  has  made  it  possible  for  one  wor!i^- 
man  to  produce  as  much  as  a  score  by  the  old  methods. 
The  number  of  agricultural  laborers  in  England  in  1831 
was  980,000 ;  in  fifty  years  it  has  declined  to  870,000- 
while  the  population  has  increased  from  13,990,000  to 
20,100,000.  This  rapid  movement  from  the  country  to 
the  city  began  first  in  Great  Britain,  and  has  had  there 
the  most  pronounced  development.  The  facts  have 
often  been  presented,  but  they  are  startling  to  the  stu- 
dent of  society.  Josiah  Strong,  Samuel  Loomis,  Albert 
Shaw,  and  a  great  variety  of  writers,  have  brought  them 
to  public  notice.  England,  Germany  and  the  United 
States  have  about  seventy-five  cities  of  100,000  popula- 
tion and  upwards,  and  some  300  others  with  between 
2":, 000  and  100,000  inhabitants.  The  United  States  has 
353  cities  of  10,000  population  and  over.  London  is 
adding  125,000  people  annually  to  its  population;  New 
York,  Berlin,  Chicago  and  Glasgow,  the  capitals  of  the 
Protestant  world,  average  each  nearly  50,000  annua] 
mcrease  in  population.  In  1818,  Liverpool  had  only 
94,300  people,  Manchester  only  70,000.  London,  which, 
in  1818,  had  1,129,000,  is  now  the  marvel  of  the  world, 
with  over  5,000,000  human  souls.  Americans  are  fa- 
miliar with  the  summary  given  by  Josiah  Strong,  in 
'''Our  Country,"  of  the  development  of  American  cities. 
In  1790,  one-thirtieth  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States  lived  in  cities  of  8,000  inhabitants  and  over.  In 
1800,  one-twenty-fifth  ;  in  1820,  one-twentieth  ;  in  1830, 
one-sixteenth;  in  1840,  one-twelfth;  in  1850,  one- 
eighth  ;  in  i860,  one-sixth  ;  in  1870,  one-fifth  ;  in  1880, 
nearly  one-fourth.  "In  1780,  there  were  but  six  cities 
of  over  6,000  population  ;  in  1880,  there  were  286  " 

The  "  Industrial  Revolution "  has  produced  tne 
modern  city.  This  sudden  crowding  into  business 
cen:eis  seemed  to  arouse  all  the  evil  passions  of  the 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      27 

race,  and  has  sorely  tested  the  religious  institutions  of 
the  Protestant  world.  England  found  herself  with  a 
swarming  city  population,  without  adequate  provision 
for  their  bodily,  intellectual,  social  or  spiritual  needs. 
The  greed  of  the  money-getters  outstripped  philanthropy 
and  Christian  zeal.  There  was  probably  as  much  suffer- 
ing in  body,  stunting  of  intellect,  anguish  of  heart  and 
corruption  of  soul  in  the  factory  cities  of  England  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  this  century  as  in  the  darkest  annals 
of  slavery.  This  is  a  bitter  indictment,  but  the  facts 
are  appalling.  The  greed  of  capitalists  who  wrung 
hours  of  aching  toil  from  infant  children  and  starving 
women,  the  wretched  hovels  in  which  the  laborers  were 
herded  without  regard  to  sex,  the  reign  of  rum  and  the 
rampant  rage  of  vice,  w^ere  like  a  blight  on  city  life. 
"  Persons  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes  were  collected  to- 
gether in  huge  buildings,  under  no  moral  control,  and 
with  no  arrangements  for  the  preservation  of  health, 
comfort  or  decency."  The  epithet,  "  a  factory  girl," 
became  a  badge  of  infamy.  The  "apprentice  system," 
which  put  thousands  of  little  children  into  the  hands  of 
mill  owners,  was  a  merciless  slavery.  Extra  hours, 
night  work,  brutal  treatment,  wretched  food,  and  foul 
sleeping-pens,  wore  out  their  little  lives.  The  cities 
became  sinks  of  moral  iniquity,  and,  in  spite  of  later 
efforts  to  redeem  them,  surpa'^^irg  all  previous  move- 
ments of  the  Christian  Churci.  they  are  still  often 
spoken  of  as  a  menace  to  civilization,  and  an  evil  sore 
on  the  body  politic. 

The  important  fact  to  this  discussion  is  that  the  city 
is  becoming  the  home  of  the  young  men  of  the  Protest- 
ant world  ;  young  men  form  the  great  majority  of  the 
industrial  army,  which  annually  invades  the  city  from 
the  country.  It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the 
country  no  longer  needs  their  labor  in  the  proportion  it 
once  did,  while  the  city  offers  opportunity  for  advance- 


28  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

ment  and  the  fascinations  of  pleasure  combined. 
Loomis,  who  has  given,  perhaps,  the  most  successful 
study  of  modern  cities,  says :  "  Great  cities  have  a 
special  fascination  for  young  men.  They  oflfer  to  the 
successful  high  and  tempting  prizes.  There  is  little  in 
the  position  of  leading  merchant,  lawyer  or  physician  in 
a  country  town  to  spur  the  ambition  of  the  young  ;  but 
those  who  hold  the  like  positions  in  the  cities  are 
princes  and  mighty  men  of  the  times."  "Ambitious  fel- 
lows prefer  a  hard  race  with  high  stakes."  "  Who  can 
measure  the  fascination  for  the  masses  of  manhood  of 
the  great  cities'  unequalled  facilities  for  instruction  and 
amusement?"*  Berlin  and  Chicago  have  each  300,000 
young  men ;  New  York,  400,000 ;  London,  a  million. 
These  young  men  are  a  most  important  factor  in  social 
life.  They  fill  the  stores,  offices  and  shops  of  the  city, 
and  man  the  thousand  agencies  which  go  to  make  up 
the  activity  of  the  modern  world.  They  are  students 
in  the  universities  and  workmen  at  the  bench.  From 
their  number  must  come  the  legislators,  teachers, 
preachers,  physicians,  merchants,  manufacturers  and 
workmen  who  are  to  guide  and  mould  the  Protestant 
world. 

The  appalling  indifference  to  religion  among  multi- 
tudes of  young  men  in  English  cities  at  this  period  will 
appear  as  we  discuss  the  founding  of  the  London  Asso- 
ciation. The  interesting  fact  often  overlooked  is  that 
such  a  large  number  of  young  men  of  Christian  char- 
acter and  zeal  for  preaching  Jesus  Christ  should  have 
been  ready  to  take  hold  of  a  movement  like  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  The  awakening  of  young 
men  and  young  women  to  active  interest  in  religion 
and  in  the  welfare  of  others  is  one  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  modem  church.  The  brutal  manners,  the 
filthy  conversation,  the  lustful  lives,  the  yielding  to  un- 

*  "  Modern  Cities,"  page  33. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION,     20 

controlled  desire,  and  the  impiety  of  young  men 
"  sowing  their  wild  oats  "  in  English  cities  in  1800  and 
earlier,  cannot  be  conceived  of  to-day.  In  a  prize  essay 
for  .£50,  entitled  "  Our  Young  Men,"  by  Francis  Cox, 
published  by  the  "  British  and  Foreign  Young  Men's 
Society,"  in  London,  1838,  we  read:  "The  cruel  sports 
which  were  once  pursued  with  avidity  at  wakes,  fairs 
and  general  holidays,  such  as  single  stick,  brutal  wrest- 
ling, bull  baiting,  and  others  prevalent  among  the  lower 
orders,  have  diminished,  some  of  them  have  almost  dis- 
appeared, and  even  the  gentlemanly  (?)  amusements  of 
cock  fighting  and  the  ring,  or  the  sanctioned  feats  of 
pugilism,  are  on  the  wane."  The  rise  of  the  city,  with 
its  fierce  temptations,  brought  about  by  the  Industrial 
Revolution,  threw  young  men  into  great  peril ;  multi- 
tudes fell  into  lives  of  sin  and  lawlessness,  but  the 
forces  of  vital  religion  we  have  already  discussed  had 
also  been  at  work,  and  had  awakened  the  consciences 
of  a  small  number  of  young  men  who  were  ready  to 
support  any  organization  inaugurated  to  carry  the 
Gospel  to  their  fellows,  A  study  of  the  short-lived 
earlier  movements  to  benefit  young  men,  which  have 
been  many,  shows  that  whatever  their  weakness  of 
organization  as  constrasted  with  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  they  were  not  the  spontaneous 
rising  of  young  men  to  help  each  other.  The  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  is  not  a  mission  to  young 
men,  much  as  it  has  been  aided  by  philanthropists  and 
the  ministry.  It  is  an  effort  by  young  men  to  help 
themselves,  an  assertion,  on'  the  part  of  Christian  young 
men,  of  the  dignity  of  their  position  as  Christians  and 
members  of  society. 

We  have  seen  the  new  problem  created  by  the  indus- 
trial movement  that  has  housed  nearly  40  per  cent,  of 
the  Protestant  world  in  cities.  We  have  pictured  also 
the  awakening  vigor  of  tlie  religious  forces  of  England. 


30  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

The  peril  of  tlic  city  called  forth  the  church  in  its 
might.  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  arose  like  a  man 
of  war  to  a  battle  with  a  new  foe.      Countless  aoencies 

o 

for  purifying  and  redeeming  the  modern  city  have  been 
called  into  being — city  missions  in  every  slum,  street 
preaching,  lay  helpers'  associations,  public  libraries, 
mechanics'  institutes,  various  parish  organizations, 
deaconesses's  orders,  the  Salvation  Army,  Dr.  Barnado's 
Home  for  Boys,  The  Workman's  Pleasant  Sunday 
Afternoon,  temperance  societies,  Young  People's 
Societies,  Sunday  Schools,  and  a  host  of  other  agencies, 
until  the  church  of  the  present  day  in  Great  Britain  has 
become  one  organized  army,  directing  its  most  power- 
ful attacks  on  the  evils  of  the  cities.  It  is  estimated 
that  in  London  £4,000,000  are  spent  annually  for  the 
uplifting,  enlightening  and  blessing  of  its  Christless 
masses. 

With  such  a  Christian  sentiment  to  appeal  to,  with 
:he  young  men  of  the  nation  in  peril,  v/ith  a  nucleus  of 
Christian  young  men  ready  to  follow,  it  only  needed  a 
leader  to  rear  an  institution  devoted  to  the  salvation  of 
young  men.  Such  a  leader  arose  in  the  person  of  a 
young  man,  George  Williams,  now  one  of  the  merchant 
princes  of  London,  the  founder  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  the  man  who,  more  than  anyone 
else,  has  lived,  worked,  given  and  prayed  for  the  young 
men  of  his  generation. 

Sec.  8. — Origin  of  the  London  Association, 
sir  george  williams. 

George  Williams  was  born  at  Ashway  Farmhouse, 
five  miles  from  Dulverton,  in  southern  England,  in  the 
year  182 1.  His  father  was  a  prosperous  yeoman  who 
owned  two  large  estates,  especially  adapted  to  sheep 
culture.    Agriculture  had  been  prosperous,  but  the  era  of 


BEGINN/N(7S  OF  Till':  BRITISH  ASSOCIA  TIO.V.      31 

the  transfer  of  power  from  the  land-holding  class  to  the 
cities  was  already  dawning.  With  rare  insight  into 
the  signs  of  the  times,  yonng  George  Williams  was  des- 
tined by  his  parents  for  a  business  career.  He  was  sent 
to  school  at  a  notable  private  academy  called  "Gloyn 
School,"  where  an  elder  brother  and  George  Hitchcock, 
who  was  so  soon  to  be  identified  with  the  London 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  had  spent  their 
school  days  together.  When  he  was  in  his  fifteenth 
year,  in  1835,  George  Williams  was  apprenticed  for  six 
years  by  his  father  to  learn  the  business  of  a  merchant 
in  the  Holmes  Drapery  Establishment  at  Bridgewater. 
Williams'  father  paid  a  premium  of  thirty  poimds  for 
this  opportunity.  There  were  then  some  sixty  young 
men  and  young  women  employed  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  the  establishment.  The  Williams  family  were 
brought  up  in  the  Church  of  England  and  attended 
service  at  the  parish  church  of  Dulverton.  However, 
when  George  Williams  began  life  among  the  employees 
in  the  Holmes  Drapery  Establishment  at  Bridgewater, 
he  had  received  no  deep  religious  impressions.  He 
was  a  thoughtless,  active,  capable  young  man,  with  a 
hasty  temper  and  a  warm  heart.  Among  the  employees 
were  two  or  three  apprentices  who  were  members  of  the 
Independent  Church  of  Bridgewater.  These  young 
men  exercised  a  great  influence  upon  Williams.  By 
their  example,  consecration  and  loving  faith,  he  was 
persuaded  to  give  his  own  life  to  Jesus  Christ.  He  be- 
gan to  pray  and  to  seek  God.  This  occurred  some  time 
in  1836,  and  marks  the  beginning  of  George  Williams' 
life  of  devotion  and  Christian  service.  In  the  Holmes 
Drapery  House  there  was  a  little  dark  room  where  the 
wrapping  paper  was  kept,  into  which  Williams  used  to 
slip  off  alone,  when  he  was  tempted,  and  pour  out  his 
soul  in  prayer  to  God.  He  says:  "  Instead  of  spending 
my  Sunday  afternoons  in  pleasure  as  formerly,  when 


32  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

the  light  came,  I  began  to  go  to  Simday  School.  I 
entered  a  class  and  afterwards  became  a  teacher." 

The  prejudice  at  this  time  against  the  Dissenters  was 
very  strong,  and  it  was  a  great  efifort  for  a  young  man 
like  Williams  to  rise  above  it.  As  a  result  of  his  con- 
version he  was  filled  with  a  desire  to  win  others  to 
Jesus  Christ.  The  "Principals"  of  the  establishment 
attended  the  Independent  Chapel,  but  were  not  Chris- 
tians. The  life  among  the  young  men  was  careless  and 
immoral.  Williams  and  the  two  or  three  Christians 
who  had  been  the  means  of  his  conversion  decided  to 
hold  prayer  meetings  in  their  bedrooms  and  invite  the 
other  young  men.  These  meetings,  which  were  devoted 
to  prayer,  singing  and  short  expositions  of  the  Scripture, 
had  a  wonderful  influence  upon  the  young  inen  of  the 
establishment.  In  a  short  time,  27  became  Christians, 
among  them  one  of  the  proprietors.  The  young  women 
also  held  meetings  in  their  lodgings  for  the  women 
clerks.  Williams  did  not  confine  his  efibrts  to  his  fel- 
low-clerks, but  with  others,  in  spite  of  criticism  and 
ridicule,  conducted  meetings  in  the  villages  near  Bridge- 
water.  It  was  a  period  when  laymen  were  just  begin- 
ning to  be  active  in  Christian  service.  Mr.  Williams 
says  :  "  There  was  a  freshness  about  it  that  gave  zest  to 
our  "efforts.  We  had  no  society  or  organization.  We 
worked  because  we  felt  impelled  to  work."^ 

In  1840,  the  business  at  Bridgewater  changed  hands 
and  Williams'  apprenticeship  terminated.  This  year 
was  spent  in  helping  his  brothers  establish  themselves 
in  business,  after  which,  George  Williams,  now  twenty 
years  of  age,  decided  to  go  to  London.  His  elder 
brother  was  accustomed  to  purchase  goods  of  his  old 
school  friend,  Mr.  George  Hitchcock,  of  the  firm  of 
George  Hitchcock  &  Co.,   72  St.   Paul's  Churchyard, 

*  This  section  is  drawn  from  notes  taken  in  a  personal  interview 
with  Sir  George  Williams,  in  October,  1894- 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      \V.\ 

London.  Tlirongli  the  inflnence  of  this  brother,  Will- 
iams was  received,  in  October,  1841,  into  this  establish- 
ment as  a  jnnior  assistant,  at  35  pounds  for  the  first 
year.  Here,  under  the  shadow  of  St.  Paul's  mighty 
dome,  where  for  generations  the  restless  stream  of  human 
life  has  ebbed  and  flowed,  from  Ludgate  Hill  to  Cheap- 
side,  young  Williams  began  his  London  career. 

In  1841,  some  eighty  young  men  were  employed  in 
the  diflferent  departments  of  the  Hitchcock  establish- 
ment, working  by  day  at  its  counters,  and  lodging  by 
night  in  the  upper  apartments.  London  was  then,  as 
now,  full  of  temptations.  A  writer  in  1837,  said:  "As 
soon  as  a  young  man  was  introduced  into  London  he 
found  in  the  immense  majority  of  instances  that  even 
lawful  business  itself  was  conducted  in  an  unlawful 
manner."  "  The  exposure  to  evil  outside  of  business  is 
extreme."  "  Under  the  present  system,  at  every  few 
steps  our  young  mechanics  in  going  to  or  returning  from 
their  labors  are  met  with  new  solicitations  to  their  pas- 
sions, and  are  made  to  drink,  gamble  and  ruin  their 
present  and  eternal  interests."*^  The  first  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  Report  (page  12),  in  1844,  declares, 
"  until  recently  the  young  men  engaged  in  the  pursuits 
of  business  were  totally  neglected.  They  were  treated 
as  though  deprived  of  mind,  as  though  formed  only  to 
labor  and  sleep,  and  to  sleep  and  labor,  so  that  they 
could  only  go  from  their  beds  to  the  counter,  and  from 
the  counter  to  their  beds,  without  a  moment  for  men- 
tal or  spiritual  culture,  without  the  disposition  or  even 
the  strength  for  the  performance  of  those  devotional 
exercises  w-hich  are  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
spiritual  life. 

"  But  happily  for  lis  a  brighter  day  has  dawned.  The 
20,000  young  men  engaged  in  the  drapery  (dry  goods) 
trade  and  the  30,000  employed  in  the   various   other 

"  Francis  Cox's  "  Prize  Essay,"  page  212. 


34  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

trades  of  the  Metropolis  are  being  regarded  as  an  im- 
portant portion  of  society."  Rev.  William  Arthur,  M. 
A.,  in  an  address  in  1844,  before  the  newly  organized 
Association,  said  :  "  Our  general  assistants  (salesmen) 
in  our  great  establishments  have  been  looked  upon 
as  a  species  of  physiological  machines  from  whom  a 
certain  amount  of  work  was  required,  and  if  that  was 
done  nothing  more  was  thought  respecting  them. 
Sometimes  the  more  knavish  the  assistant  was,  if 
but  successful,  the  more  he  was  approved.  No  class 
has  been  more  neglected  or  despised."  In  1847,  a 
young  man  writes  of  the  commercial  house  where  he 
was  employed  :  "During  dinner,  tea  and  supper  time, 
nothing  but  obscene  language  is  going  on,  such  as 
scenes  in  brothels,  night  brawls,  etc.,  and  this  in  th.^ 
presence  of  junior  hands  and  apprentices.  I  am  writing 
these  lines  within  the  hearing  of  those  who  are  playing 
cards  for  half-penny  the  game,  swearing  at  the  top  of 
their  voices,  and  calling  each  other  cheats.  The  heads 
of  the  houses  leave  in  the  evening  for  their  homes,  and 
leave  these  to  go  the  broad  way  that  leads  to  destruc- 
tion. They  go  to  the  theatre  and  those  casinos  where 
they  dance  and  mix  with  the  unfortunates."  "  We 
sometimes  see  the  worst  characters  placed  in  the  most 
important  situations."  "  Scarcely  a  week  passes  but 
some  of  the  houses  find  their  young  men  robbing  them 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  their  extravaganov.  " 
A  young  man  who  had  come  up  from  the  coun/.y 
writes  in  1847 :  "  We  only  have  a  bedroom — no  sit- 
ting-room. The  consequence  is  that  on  Sunday  we 
have  nowhere  to  go.  If  we  go  to  church,  what  is  more 
miserable  than  to  turn  out  into  the  streets — no  place  to 
go  except  a  coffee  or  eating  house,  where  nothing  is  to  be 
read  except  the  Sunday  newspapers."  *    Another  writes  ; 

'  Third  London  Annual  Report. 
*  Third  Annual  Report. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      35 

"  I  could  not  have  believed  it  had  I  not  witnessed  it 
myself  that  so  much  wickedness  could  abound  in  one 
establishment.  We  have  every  sanction  given  for 
swearing,  betting,  horse  racing,  theatres  and  every 
facility  afforded  for  gratifying  the  worldly  thirst  for 
pleasure.  Our  young  men  instead  of  hallowing  the 
Sabbath  day  spend  it  on  the  water  or  in  the  numerous 
excursions."  The  Fourth  Annual  Report  (page  22), 
says :  "  There  are  few  persons  who  have  not  lived  in 
the  large  hives  of  commerce  with  which  the  metropolis 
abounds  who  can  adequately  judge  of  the  real  life 
of  the  vast  majority  of  those  who  dwell  there.  Could 
the  pen  faithfully  describe  the  annual  shipwreck  of 
good  conscience  and  character  which  takes  place 
among  the  commercial  young  men  of  London,  then 
it  would  be  more  easy  to  perceive  the  value  of  an 
attempt  to  carry  into  their  midst  the  saving  health 
of  the  Gospel." 

Mr.  Shipton,  the  second  employed  secretary  of  the 
London  Association,  in  1855,  writes:  "  In  1844,  there 
were  probably  150,000  young  men  in  London."  "Of 
the  assistants  in  shops  and  warehouses,  by  far  the  larger 
number  lived  in  the  houses  of  business  in  which  they  . 
were  employed.  They  commenced  their  labor  from  7 
to  9  in  the  morning  and  closed  it  from  9  to  11  in  the 
evening,  while  in  some  seasons  the  toil  of  the  day  did 
not  end  until  after  midnight."  "  The  sleeping  apart- 
ments were  small  and  badly  ventilated.  Several  slept 
in  the  same  room,  and  of  the  juniors,  two  often  occu- 
pied the  same  bed."  "  The  majority  sought  their  en- 
joyment in  the  tavern."  "The  novice  and  the  veteran 
in  sin,  the  '  old  stager '  in  London  and  the  youth  fresh 
from  the  country,  occupied  one  <iiid  the  same  bedroom." 
"Their  conviviality  often  reached  the  point  of  excess, 
and  the  moral  degradation  thus  commenced  ended  in 
*oo  zjianv  cases  in  a  point  of  debasement  ruinous  to  the 


:iG  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

individual  and  deeply  pernicious  to  those  around  him."  ^ 
It  was  into  such  an  atmosphere  as  this,  laden  with 
iniquity,  that  young  George  Williams  came,  a  conse- 
crated young  man,  with  his  heart  burning  with  love 
and  zeal  for  Jesus  Christ.  He  v;orked  during  the  day 
with  his  eighty  fellow-clerks,  and  at  night  slept  in  a 
small  bed-room  in  one  of  the  upper  floors  of  the  estab- 
lishment. The  loneliness,  temptation  and  irreligion  of 
his  surroundings  led  him  to  pour  out  his  heart  in  prayer 
that  he  might  find  a  feliow-v/orker  among  the  young 
men.  In  less  than  a  month  the  house  secured  the 
services  of  J.  Christopher  Smith,  a  young  man  of  about 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  who  was  a  devoted  Christian 
and  a  student  of  the  Bible.  Christopher  Smith  became 
George  Williams'  room-mate.  The  intimate  relations, 
the  Christian  fellowship  of  these  two  young  men  will 
never  be  known,  but  the  power  of  their  lives  exerted  an 
influence  which  is  to-day  felt  throughout  the  world. 
Through  their  efforts  several  young  men  in  the  estab- 
lishment became  Christians.  Bedroom  prayer  meet- 
ings similar  to  the  Bridgewater  meetings  were  estab- 
lished and  led  by  Williams,  generally  in  his  own  room, 
and  some  months  later  a  Bible  class  was  begun  which 
was  taught  by  Christopher  Smith.  A  missionary  society 
was  founded  among  the  clerks  in  the  house,  which  be- 
tween the  years  1842  and  1844  raised  fifty  pounds 
among  the  young  men.  Also  a  literary  society  for  mu- 
tual improvement,  at  which  the  young  men  read  essays 
and  gave  addresses  on  such  subjects  as  "Astronomy," 
"  The  History  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,"  and  the  like. 
Young  men  in  the  house  began  to  seek  Jesus  Christ 
and  were  converted. 

Larger  numbers  began  to  attend  the  prayer  meetings 
and  the  Bible  classes.  In  this  emergency,  Mr.  Williams 
and  the  others  decided  to  ask  the  proprietor,  Mr.  George 

'-•  Report  of  Paris  Couference,  1855,  page  59. 


BEGTNNLVGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      37 

Hitchcock,  for  a  larger  room  for  the  meetings.  He  was 
an  energetic  and  successful  business  man,  but  had  little 
or  no  interest  in  religion.  The  young  men  approached 
him  with  much  hesitation,  but  presented  the  matter  with 
such  earnestness,  that  it  touched  his  heart.  The  room 
was  granted,  and  Mr.  Hitchcock  himself  was  led  before 
long  to  become  a  Christian.  He  became  a  hearty  sup- 
porter of  the  young  men  in  their  efforts,  which  were  re- 
markably successful,  resulting  before  June,  1844,  in  the 
conversion  of  some  sixteen  young  men  in  the  establish- 
ment.  The  conversion  of  George  Hitchcock  is  an 
important  step  in  the  development  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth  and 
large  business  acquaintance.  Without  the  influence  oi 
such  a  friend  the  movement  could  hardly  have  made 
such  rapid  advancement.  Early  in  1844,  he  described 
the  work  among  his  young  men  to  Mr.  W.  D.  Owen,  the 
proprietor  of  another  large  dry  goods  establishment. 
Mr.  Owen,  through  his  "principal  assistant,"^  °  Mr.  James 
Smith  inaugurated  similar  meetings  among  the  young 
men  of  his  business  house,  in  Great  Coram  Street,  which 
were  blessed  with  like  results.  In  two  other  establish- 
ments prayer  meetings  were  carried  on  of  a  similar  char- 
acter. It  was  now  May,  1844.  Four  houses  of  business 
were  holding  prayer  meetings  among  their  young  men. 
The  Metropolitan  Drapers'  Association  was  urging  early 
closing  in  order  to  give  the  young  men  opportunity  for 
improvement.  A  number  of  mechanical  institutes  exist- 
ed in  London  and  several  societies  for  mutual  improve- 
ment had  been  organized  by  young  men.  Towards  the 
close  of  May,  1844,  an  important  incident  occurred  on 
Black  Friars  Bridge,  which  can  best  be  described  in  the 
words  of  one  of  the  two  persons  present — Mr.  Edward 
Beaumont,  an  assistant  in  the  Hitchcock  establishment, 
who  had  become  a  Christian  through  the  influence  of 

1'  Sliipton.History  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  p.  33. 


38  VO  UNO  MEN 'S  CHRIS  TIA  N  ASSOC! A  TION. 

George  Williams  and  his  fellow-workers.  In  a  letter  to 
Mr.  George  Williams,  written  many  years  afterwards, 
he  thus  describes  the  way  the  idea  of  an  Associa- 
tion first  found  expression.  "  On  one  Sunday  even- 
ing, in  the  latter  end  of  May,  1844,  you  accompan- 
ied me  to  Surrey  Chapel.  After  walking  a  few 
minutes  in  silence  you  said,  pressing  my  arm  and 
addressing  me  familiarly,  as  you  were  in  the  habit 
of  doing,  '  Teddy,  are  you  prepared  to  make  a  sacrifice 
for  Christ?'  I  replied,  'If  called  upon  to  do  so,  I 
hope  and  trust  I  can.'  You  then  told  me  that  you 
had  been  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  in- 
troducing religious  services,  such  as  we  enjoyed,  into 
every  large  establishment  in  London,  and  that  you 
thought  that  if  a  few  earnest,  devoted,  and  self-denying 
men  could  be  found  to  unite  themselves  together  for  this 
purpose,  that  with  earnest  prayer  God  would  smile 
upon  their  efforts,  and  much  good  might  be  done.  I 
need  not  say  that  I  heartily  concurred,  and  said  '  I 
would  gladly  assist  in  such  an  effort.'  You  told  me  at 
the  same  time  that  I  was  the  only  person  to  whom  you 
had  mentioned  it.  This  conversation  which  occupied 
the  whole  of  our  time  going  and  returning  from  Surrey 
Chapel  was  again  resumed  the  following  week,  and 
collecting  together  three  or  four,  it  may  be  more,  of  the 
religious  young  men  of  the  establishment,  the  matter 
was  gone  more  fully  into,  and  if  I  mistake  not,  the  con- 
versation took  place  one  evening  after  our  prayer  meet- 
ing and  Bible  class,  when  a  few  of  the  religious  young 
men  remained  behind.  We  then  resolved  to  call  a 
meeting  of  all  the  religious  young  men  of  the  establish- 
ment, to  meet  on  Thursday,  June  6th,  1844,  to  con- 
sider the  importance  and  practicability  of  establishing 
such  an  Association."  ^^ 

On  this  very  day.  May  31st,  that  the  young  men  at 

"  Stevenson's  Historical  Record,  page  16. 


BEGIAWIXGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      39 

Hitchcock  &  Co. 's  were  conferring  together,  Mr.  Owen's 
principal  assistant,  Mr.  James  Smith,  who  had  inaugurat- 
ed the  prayer  meeting  in  the  Owen  Establishment,  had 
written  Mr.  Geo.  Williams  :  "  I  have  been  truly  rejoiced 
to  hear  that  the  Lord  is  doing  a  great  work  in  your 
house,  and  I  hope  that  the  leaven  thus  set  will  go  on 
increasing  abundantly.  I  am  engaged  here  in  the  same 
work,  but  stand  almost  alone,  and  from  what  I  have 
heard,  I  am  induced  to  say,  '  Come  over  and  help  us.' 
We  have  a  prayer  meeting  this  evening  at  half-past 
eight.  '  If  you  could  by  any  possibility  be  here  at 
eight,  I  should  be  glad  as  I  want  to  advise  with  you  on 
another  subject  in  reference  to  our  trade,  viz.  :  whether 
anything  can  be  done  in  other  houses.' "  ^ 

These  two  meetings  were  held  on  May  31st,  1844,  and 
the  historic  meeting  already  referred  to  arranged  by 
George  Williams  for  the  following  week,  June  6th,  1844, 
at  the  establishment  of  George  Hitchcock  &  Company. 
George  Williams  invited  Mr.  James  Smith  to  attend 
this  meeting  for  June  6th. 

On  the  evening  of  June  6th,  1844,  twelve  young  men, 
one  of  whom,  Mr.  James  Smith,  was  from  the  Owen 
Silk  Establishment,  met  in  the  room  granted  by  George 
Hitchcock  to  the  young  men  of  his  house  for  prayer 
meetings,  to  consider  the  advisability  of  forming  a 
"  Society  for  Improving  the  Spiritual  Condition  of  Young 
Men  engaged  in  the  drapery  and  other  trades."  The 
leading  spirit  in  this  meeting  was  George  Williams. 
The  work  at  Bridgewater  and  in  the  Hitchcock  House 
had  convinced  him  that  a  few  determined.  Christian 
young  men,  united  by  a  common  purpose,  could  wield 
a  great  influence  over  other  young  men.  This  meeting 
decided  to  form  a  society  for  the  purpose  of  introducing 
religious  meetings  of  a  similar  character  into  houses  of 
business  in  London.     A  committee  was  appointed,  of 

-    ^  Shipton,  Association  History,  page  33. 


40  }  'O  UNG  MEN 'S  CHRISTIA  N  ASSOC! A  TION. 

which  ]Mr.  James  Smith,  of  the  Owen  Silk  Establish- 
ment, the  most  prominent  of  their  number,  was  made 
chairman.  This  committee  was  instructed  to  prepare  a 
Constitution.  Mr.  Christopher  Smith,  at  a  meeting 
held  two  weeks  later,  suggested  the  name,  which  has 
been  universally  adopted,  "  The  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association."  The  constitution  as  finally  set  forth 
reads  as  follows : 

'*  I.  That  this  society  be  called  the  'Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.' 

2.  That  the  object  of  this  Association  shall  be  the  im- 
provement of  the  spiritual  condition  of  young  men  en- 
gaged in  the  drapery  and  other  trades,  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  religious  services  among  them. 

3.  That  the  affairs  of  the  Association  be  in  the  hands 
of  a  committee  of  management  comprising  a  President, 
Vice-President,  a  Treasurer,  two  Secretaries  and  twelve 
Committeemen,  with  power  to  add  to  their  number, 
seven  to  form  a  quorum. 

4.  That  the  Committee  meet  once  a  month  (or  often- 
er  if  required),  for  the  dispatch  of  general  business. 

5.  That  two  social  tea  meetings  be  held  in  the  year 
(the  time  of  such  meetings  to  be  left  to  the  discretion 
of  the  Committee),  at  which  a  report  of  the  Society's 
proceedings  shall  be  read. 

6.  That  a  general  meeting  be  held  once  a  fortnight 
(or  oftener  if  required),  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  re- 
ports from  members  of  the  progress  of  the  work  of  God 
in  the  various  establishments,  and  for  such  other  pur- 
poses as  the  Committee  shall  see  fit  to  determine,  and 
that  all  meetings  shall  be  open  for  members  and  those 
friends  whom  they  may  consider  proper  persons  to 
bring,  and  to  those  who  shall  receive  invitations  from 
the  Committee. 

7.  That  the  Chairman  of  all  general  meetings  be 
proposed  by  the  Committee,  and  elected  by  a  majority 


BnGINN/NOS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.       41 

of  the  members,  and  that  all  meetings  shall  begin  and 
end  with  prayer. 

8.  That  no  person  shall  be  considered  eligible  to  be- 
come a  member  of  this  Association,  unless  he  be  a  mem- 
ber of  a  Christian  Church,  or  there  be  sufficient  evidence 
of  his  being  a  converted  character." 

Three  rules  follow  relating  to  the  election  of  mem- 
bers bv  the  Committee ;  a  membership  fee  of  sixpence, 
and  dues  of  sixpence  per  quarter,  and  the  issuing  of  a 
membership  ticket. 

Sec.  9. — From  the  Founding  to  November,  1845. 
ludgate  hill  coffee  house. 

The  movement  now  contemplated  a  wuder  work 
than  the  emplo3'ees  of  a  single  business  establishment, 
and  it  became  necessary  to  secure  a  meeting  room  in 
some  public  place  for  the  fortnightly  gathering  of  the 
members  from  different  houses.  Mr,  Williams  ar- 
ranged that  these  meetings,  which  were  soon  attended 
by  70  young  men,  should  be  held  at  a  coiTea  house  in 
Ludgate  Hill,  for  which  they  paid  half  a  crown  a  week 
rent.  Several  weeks  later,  on  the  25th  of  July,  1844,  a 
circular  letter  was  sent  to  a  large  number  of  Christian 
young  men  in  various  houses  of  business,  as  follows  : 

No.  72  St.  Paul's  Churchyard. 
"Dear  Sir: — Suffer  us  to  bring  before  your  notice  some  im- 
portant considerations  to  which,  for  some  time  past,  our  minds  have 
been  directed,  and  which  intimately  concern  the  eternal  welfare  of 
a  large  class  of  your  fellow  mortals.  We  have  looked  with  deep 
concern  and  anxiety  upon  the  almost  totally  neglected  spiritual 
condition  of  the  young  men  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  business, 
and  feel  desirous  by  the  assistance  of  God  to  make  some  effort  in 
order  to  improve  it.  *  *  *  We  have  seriously  and  carefully  con- 
sulted as  to  the  best  means  by  which  to  accomplish  so  great  a  work, 
and  have  come  to  the  decision  that  there  is  nothing  so  calculated 
to  discountenance  immorality  and  vice,  and  to  promote  a  spirit  of 
serious  inquiry  among  the  class  in  which  our  lot  is  cast,  as  the  in- 


42  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

troductiou  of  religious  services  among  them.  *  *  *  We  shall  not 
be  surprised  if  such  a  proposal  as  this  be  reckoned  by  some  as  a 
Utopian  scheme.  *  *  *  We  are  likewise  aware  of  the  numerous 
difficulties  which  in  many  places  will  present  themselves,  and  the 
obloquy  and  contempt  which  such  a  course  of  procedure  will  inev- 
itably bring  down  upon  the  promoters  and  supporters  of  such  an 
attempt  from  the  irreligious  members  of  some  of  our  large  estab- 
lishments. *  *  *  But  shall  persecution  keep  us  back  from  at- 
tempting the  salvation  of  souls?  A  society  is  now  formed,  the  ob- 
ject of  which  is  the  promotion  of  the  spiritual  welfare  of  young 
men  engaged  in  the  drapery  and  other  trades  by  the  introduction 
of  religious  services  among  them.  We  earnestly  entreat  your 
Christian  co-operation  in  this  great  work. 

*  ■»  -s-  »  Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Committee, 

John  C.  Svmons.     \  Cgcretaries 
WiLUAM  Creese,    /  5='ecretaries. 

This  circular  was  sent  to  every  Christian  young  man 
engaged  in  the  drapery  and  other  trades,  whose  names 
the  Committee  could  secure. 

The  coffee  room  at  Ludgate  Hill  became  too  small, 
and  after  some  difficulty  a  larger  room  was  secured  at 
Radley's  Hotel,  182  Black  Friars  Road.  Here,  on 
November  8th,  five  months  after  the  meeting  for  or- 
ganization, a  "  tea  meeting  of  the  members  and  friends 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  "  was  held, 
at  which  Mr.  W.  D.  Owen,  the  prominent  silk  mer- 
chant already  mentioned,  presided  ;  about  two  hundred 
persons,  including  several  clergymen  and  ministers, 
*'  sat  down  to  tea." 

The  report  penned  at  that  time  without  a  thought 
that  it  would  be  read  fifty  years  later,  by  young  men 
thousands  of  miles  distant,  is  full  of  the  same  faith, 
courage  and  hope  as  the  circular  just  quoted.  In 
speaking  of  the  fortnightly  meetings,  the  report  says  : 
"  These  meetings  soon  became  numerously  attended, 
and  were  rendered  of  an  interesting  and  profitable 
character  by  the  reports  of  members  from  various 
houses.  The  services  which  the  *  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association '  is  established  to  promote  are  chiefly 


nEG/NN/NGS  OF  THE  LRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      43 

prayer  meetings,  and  wherever  it  is  practicable,  Bible 
classes.  The  Committee  recommend  that  religious 
young  men  residing  in  the  different  houses  should  es- 
tablish these  in  their  sleeping  rooms,  and  that  the  un- 
converted among  them  should  be  invited  to  attend." 

In  a  house  where  forty  persons  are  employed  a  mem- 
ber writes :  "  We  rejoice  to  say  we  have  an  altar  raised 
to  God  within  our  walls.  At  first,  two  of  us  met  once  a 
week  for  the  purpose.  We  met  with  a  good  deal  of 
ridicule  and  opposition,  but  this  did  not  daunt  us.  In- 
stead of  two,  the  number  who  now  attend  is  eleven  ; 
one,  I  am  happy  to  say,  has  '  stepped  into  the  liberty 
of  the  children  of  God,'  and  is  now  a  member  of  Rev. 
J.  Sherman's  Church." 

Another  writes  :  "  We  have  a  prayer  meeting  once  a 
week,  to  which  w^e  invite  young  men  who  are  not  re- 
ligious ;  several  regularly  attend  and  appear  to  feel  in- 
terested." One  whites  from  another  house:  "Two 
have  joined  themselves  to  the  people  of  God  ;  several 
others  are  becoming  inquirers."  Another  house  re- 
ports :  "  Three  persons  were  converted  in  our  meeting, 
one  of  whom  has  become  a  local  preacher." 

The  report  of  the  first  five  months  of  work,  in  con- 
cluding, says:  "The  Committee  cannot  but  feel  encour- 
aged by  their  success.  There  are  at  present  connected 
with  the  Association  about  70  enrolled  members  ;  the 
greatest  possible  caution  has  been  exercised  in  their 
selection.  We  would  rather  see  the  names  of  men  will- 
ing to  be  '  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord  '  than  behold  a  long  and  numerous 
list  of  those  without  the  power  of  godliness.  Religious 
services  are  now  established  in  fourteen  houses,  into 
ten  of  which  they  were  introduced  by  the  Association. 
There  are  also  two  districts  in  which  young  men  from 
different  houses  meet  together  for  united  prayer." 

The  first  result  of  the  Association  as  show^n  in  the 


44  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

report  given  at  their  first  tea  gathering  was  the  establish- 
ment of  religious  meetings  in  houses  of  business.  This 
was  looked  upon  by  the  young  men  themselves  as  their 
most  important  work.  It  was  a  noble  beginning,  but 
even  more  important  was  the  establishing  of  the  joint 
fortnightly  meetings ;  first  at  the  Ludgate  Hill  coffee 
house  (St.  Martin's),  afterwards  on  account  of  in- 
creased numbers  removed  to  Radley's  Hotel,  and  later, 
as  we  shall  see,  to  Sergeant's  Inn.  This,  with  the  sim- 
ilar meeting  in  another  section  of  the  city  referred  to 
in  the  report,  was  the  real  germ  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  Here  the  young  men  met  for 
prayer  and  mutual  encouragement,  here  their  reports 
were  given,  here  their  plans  were  made,  here  they  re- 
ceived inspiration  for  the  trying  work  of  the  week  in 
their  own  establishments.  It  was  a  fellowship  meeting 
of  believers,  who  received  encouragement  from  each 
other,  and  from  prayer.  Here  was  born  the  young 
men's  evangelistic  meeting,  which  has  been  the  rally- 
ing center  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
for  half  a  century. 

In  three  years  the  genius  and  zeal  of  George  Will- 
iams had  rallied  around  him  the  Christian  young  men 
of  fourteen  different  commercial  houses  of  the  metropo- 
lis, into  a  compact,  close  organization,  inspired  with 
one  purpose — the  desire  to  save  the  young  men  of 
London.  We  must  go  one  step  further  at  this  "  tea 
gathering"  on  November  8th,  1844.  Mr.  W.  D.  Owen, 
who  had  shown  such  deep  interest  in  the  movement, 
suggested  that  the  Association  raise  a  fund  and  employ 
a  missionary  to  devote  his  whole  time  to  Christian 
work  among  young  men,  as  the  representative  of  the 
society.  In  accordance  with  this  suggestion,  on  No- 
vember 14th,  1844,  at  a  special  meeting,  the  Committee 
of  management  unanimously  resolved  "  to  employ  a 
missionary  to  act  as  assistant  secretary,   to  attend  all 


BEGINNINGS  OF  ril/C  BRIflSII  ASSOCIATION.      45 

general  meetings  of  the  Association  ;  to  assist  in  con- 
ducting services  in  houses  where  they  want  help  ;  to 
establish  and  render  as  efficient  as  possible  district  as- 
sociations ;  to  form,  by  communicating  with  Christian 
young  men  in  the  large  towns  and  cities  of  the  king- 
dom, branch  Associations  (it  may  sometimes  be  neces- 
sary that  he  should  visit  these  towns  and  cities) — to 
visit  young  men  in  illness,  and  make  himself  generally 
useful  among  the  class  to  which  his  efforts  will  be  di- 
rected by  pointing  them  '  to  the  Lamb  of  God  which 
taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world.'  " 

Through  the  efforts  of  the  young  men,  and  the  lib- 
erality of  George  Hitchcock,  seventy  of  the  hundred 
and  thirty  pounds  needed  were  secured,  and  an  effort 
made  to  find  a  suitable  man  for  the  position.  After  con- 
sidering twenty-eight  different  applicants,  most  of 
whom  were  ministers  or  clergymen,  Mr.  T.  H.  Tarlton, 
a  layman,  was  selected  to  become  the  first  agent  of  the 
London  "Young  Men's  Christian  Association."  In 
January,  1S45,  a  branch  Association  with  50  members 
was  organized  in  the  West  End.  On  February  14th,  a 
public  gospel  meeting  for  young  men  was  held  ;  on 
March  6th,  1845,  nine  months  after  the  meeting  for  or- 
ganization in  the  little  room  of  George  Hitchcock's  es- 
tablishment, the  second  "tea  meeting"  of  members 
and  friends  of  the  Association  was  held  at  Radley's 
Hotel,  Blackfriars  Bridge.  The  work  now  began  to 
attract  the  attention  of  Christian  employers  and  of 
pastors.  Rev,  Geo.  W.  Noel,  a  prominent  minister, 
presided  at  this  gathering:  "  Upwards  of  300  persons 
sat  down  to  tea,  among  whom  were  several  very  influ- 
ential persons  connected  with  the  drapery  trade."  The 
chairman  "  was  supported  by  four  other  ministers,  the 
Rev.  John  Gumming,  Rev.  William  Arthur,  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Martin,  and  Rev.  John  Branch."-    The  report  given 

-  Sbipton,  "  Histon-  of  the  Association,"  page  35. 


46  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

at  this  meeting  is  full  of  enthusiasm,  and  breathes  the 
courage  born  of  success.  The  Committee  said  :  "  The 
number  of  members  now  amounts  to  i6o.  Our  usual 
fortnightly  meetings  are  largely  attended  and  are  ren- 
dered increasingly  interesting  and  profitable.  It  is  the 
design  of  the  Committee  to  extend  the  benefits  of  the 
Association  to  all  parts  of  the  metropolis,  by  means  of 
various  branches.  Nor  would  they  confine  themselves 
to  the  metropolis,  but  through  the  medium  of  their  mis- 
sionary extend  themselves  and  form  similar  Associations 
in  all  the  large  towns  and  cities  of  the  kingdom.  They 
believe  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  in  every  house  of 
business  an  altar  shall  be  raised  to  the  God  of  Heaven." 

The  activity  of  the  Association  increased  rapidly 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Tarlton.  It  soon  became 
clear  that  if  they  were  to  undertake  seriously  the  prob- 
lem of  winning  the  young  men  of  London,  the  work 
must  be  conducted  on  a  more  extended  scale,  and 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  all  young  men.  It  was  felt  that 
the  establishment  of  prayer  meetings  and  Bible  classes 
in  houses  of  business  was  not  sufficient  for  so  extended 
an  undertaking.  Through  the  liberality  of  George 
Hitchcock,  attractive  headquarters  for  the  Association 
were  now  secured  at  Sergeant's  Inn,  No.  14  Fleet  Street. 
Mr.  Hitchcock  furnished  the  apartments  and  paid  the 
rent.  Here  an  office  was  provided  for  Mr.  Tarlton,  a 
room  for  the  fortnightly  meeting,  and  later,  one  for  Mr. 
Williams'  Bible  class.  This  Bible  class,  taught  by 
George  Williams,  was  attended  by  young  men  about  50 
in  number,  who  had  recently  become  Christians,  or  who 
were  desirous  of  learning  about  Jesus  Christ. 

The  young  men  of  the  Association  also  felt  that  they 
could  not  carry  on  such  a  great  enterprise  requiring 
money  and  wisdom,  without  the  support  of  men  older 
than  themselves,  and  men  prominent  in  the  metropolis. 
Mr.  R.  C.  L.  Bevan,  a  leading  banker  of  London,  was  ac- 


BEGINNINGS  OF  TUE  URITISI I  ASSOCIATION.      47 

c  jrdingly  asked  to  assume  the  duties  of  President  of  the 
Association.  "  Mr.  Be  van  did  not  attend  our  meeting, 
t)ut  represented  us  outside,"  Mr.  Williams  once  said 
in  conversation,  many  years  later.  "  Twenty-two  pastors 
of  both  the  Church  of  England  and  of  dissenting  de- 
nominations accepted  positions  as  Vice-Presidents,  and 
Mr.  George  Hitchcock,  who  had  already  done  so  much 
for  the  Association,  became  its  Treasurer,"  a  position  he 
filled  until  1864. 

The  Association  now  decided  upon  a  most  important 
step.  Until  March,  1845,  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  had  been  a  purely  religious  organization. 
Its  aim  was  clearly  defined  :  the  winning  of  young  men 
to  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  building  in  them  of  Christian 
character.  The  important  fact  to  be  noticed  is  that  in 
the  pursuance  of  this  aim  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  has  been  led  step  by  step  to  minister  to  the 
mental,  then  the  social,  and  lastly  to  the  physical  needs 
of  young  men,  as  well  as  to  their  spiritual  natures. 
This  is  an  important,  religious  and  sociological  fact. 
In  ser\'ing  Jesus  Christ,  Christians  are  led  to  serve 
their  fellowmen  in  any  capacity  which  the  needs  of  the 
times  suggest.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion on  the  one  hand  has  been  led  to  contemplate  the 
nature  of  young  men  as  a  whole,  and  to  aim  at  their 
symmetrical  development,  and  on  the  other  hand  to 
contemplate  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  as  adapted  to 
redeem  the  whole  man — body,  soul,  and  spirit.  There 
has  been  much  difference  of  opinion  among  Association 
leaders  as  to  whether  the  aim  to  provide  social,  intel- 
lectual and  physical  advantages  for  young  men  is  le- 
gitimate for  an  institution  which  professes  simply  to 
"extend  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  among  young  men." 
Two  positions  have  been  taken  :  The  first  and  earliest 
historically  is  that  the  establishment  of  an  institution, 
under  the  management  of  Christian  young  men,  to  pro- 


43  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

vide  the  various  agencies  which  young  men  need  for 
syr^metrical  development,  brings  young  men  who  are 
not  Christians  into  friendly  relations  with  young  men 
who  are  Christians,  and  enables  these  Christian  young 
men  to  win  the  others  to  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  a  great 
fact,  of  which  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
is  a  fifty  years'  demonstration.  It  rests  upon  a  socio- 
logical truth — the  power  of  environment.  It  is  the 
recognition  of  this  truth,  and  the  embodiment  of  it  in 
organized  form,  which  has  shaped  the  policy  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  The  Association 
has  demonstrated  that  practical  agencies  in  the  hands 
of  Christian  men  may  be  a  means  of  drawing  men  who 
are  not  Christians  into  fellowship  with  men  who  are, 
and  so  lead  them  to  become  followers  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  second  position  which  has  been  taken  by  many 
Association  leaders  is  that  providing  physical,  social 
and  intellectual  opportunities  for  young  men  is  a  good 
in  itself.  That  the  Christian  religion  demands  the 
symmetrical  development  of  the  whole  man  in  all  his 
powers — body,  soul  and  spirit,  and  that  Christians  in 
serving  Jesus  Christ,  must,  to  the  full  extent  of  their 
ability,  help  their  fellow  men,  not  only  in  spiritual,  but 
in  temporal  matters  as  well,  if  they  have  need ;  that 
"  extending  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  among  young  men" 
necessitates  the  symmetrical  development  of  all  the 
powers  of  young  manhood.  Both  are  right.  Practical 
agencies  under  Christian  management  do  lead  men  to 
become  Christians;  serving  Jesus  Christ  does  lead 
Christians  to  provide  for  the  needs  of  the  whole  man. 
Upon  these  two  truths — the  power  of  environment  to 
mould  character,  and  the  adaptation  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  redeem  manhood — body,  soul  and  spirit, 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  rests  its  claim 
for  a  place  among  the  agencies  of  the  Church. 

The  Committee  in  charge  of  the  new  Loudon  Associ- 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.     48 

ation  were  actuated  by  both  motives,  though  especially 
by  the  first.  Between  the  "  tea  evening"  at  Radley's 
Hotel  in  March,  and  the  first  anniversary  of  the  Asso- 
ciation held  at  the  same  place  a  few  months  later  in 
November,  the  new  plans  were  formulated.  A  new 
clause  appears  in  the  constitution  which  reads  :  "  The 
object  of  this  Association  shall  be  the  improvement  of 
the  spiritual  and  mental  condition  of  young  men  en- 
gaged in  houses  of  business,  by  the  introduction  of 
family  or  social  prayer,  Bible  classes.  Mutual  Improve- 
ment Societies,  or  any  other  plan  strictly  in  accordance 
with  the  Scriptures."^ 

The  first  annual  report  states  that. the  article  describ- 
ing the  admission  of  members  is  altered  so  as  to  provide 
only  that  applicants  give  credible  evidence  of  conver- 
sion. The  report  also  states,  "  Since  the  last  meeting  (the 
March  previous),  your  Committee  have  added  to  their 
plan  the  formation  of  Mutual  Improvement  Societies,  as 
in  many  large  houses  containing  upwards  of  eighty  to 
one  hundred  young  men,  no  Christian  young  man  is 
found,  or  if  there  be  one,  his  position  is  so  isolated  that 
he  is  prevented  from  carrying  out  the  other  part  of  our 
plan.  Now  many  unconverted  young  men  would  assist 
and  feel  interested  in  a  Mutual  Improvement  Society,  so 
would  principals  of  houses,  and  we  should  deem  it  no 
unimportant  result  if  in  any  instance  we  can  lead  to 
the  library  of  useful  knowledge,  rather  than  to  cards 
and  billiards,  to  the  cigar  divan,  concert  room,  theatre 
oi  the  seductive  retreat."  As  a  part  of  this  enlarged 
programme,  a  course  of  popular  lectures  to  young  men 
was  announced  to  be  delivered  by  leading  ministers 
and  laymen  of  London,  to  begin  on  December  9th, 
1845.  ^his  lecture  course,  known  as  the  Exeter  Hall 
Series,  became  a  remarkable  agency  in  stimulating  the 
intellectual  life  of  young  men.     As  a  pioneer   in  the 

'  First  Annual  Renort,  Nov.  6th.  1845. 


50  VO  UNG  MEN 'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOC  I  A  TION. 

lecture  field,  the  influence  of  this  movement  cannot  be 
measured.  It  has  reached  all  over  the  Anglo-Saxon 
world. 

Two  public  tea  gatherings  of  the  friends  of  its  work 
had  been  held  during  the  year  by  the  Association,  at 
which  reports  were  read  of  the  society's  progress.  The 
first  anniversary  was  announced  for  November  6th, 
1845.  Three  hundred  and  thirty-five  persons,  among 
them  many  noted  clergymen,  sat  down  to  tea  at  this 
first  anniversary  meeting  at  Radley's  Hotel.*  It  was 
one  year  and  five  months  since  twelve  young  men,  un- 
known, without  influence,  without  money,  without 
friends,  had  met  in  the  humble  bedroom  of  George 
Williams  to  pray  for  the  young  men  of  London.  The 
result  was  already  a  marvelous  testimony  to  their  zeal, 
their  wisdom,  and  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Born  in  the  revival  among  George  Hitchcock's  young 
men,  an  Association  had  been  inaugurated  numbering 
200  young  laymen  of  all  denominations  in  18  different 
commercial  establishments  of  London  ;  managed  by  a 
Committee  elected  by  a  majority  of  the  members  ;  with 
a  leading  banker  as  President ;  a  prominent  merchant 
as  Treasurer;  22  prominent  ministers  of  every  denomi- 
nation as  Vice-Presidents;  with  such  prominent  citi- 
zens as  Samuel  Morley  (who  afterwards  gave  5,000 
pounds  toward  the  purchase  of  a  home  for  the  Associa- 
tion) willing  to  give  an  address  at  the  annual  meeting  ; 
with  rooms  nicely  furnished  as  headquarters,  where 
Bible  classes  and  prayer  meetings  were  conducted  ;  a 
paid  agent  devoting  his  entire  time  to  the  interests  of 
the  Association,  the  whole  movement  animated  with 
the  purpose  to  improve  young  men  spiritually  and  in- 
tellectually by  any  means  strictly  in  accordance  with 
the  Word  of  God.  Here  was  the  beginning  of  the 
fundamental  idea  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 

*  First  Annual  Report. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.     51 

ciation, — that  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  through  His 
Church  is  intended  to  save,  redeem  and  develop  the 
whole  man,  body,  soul  and  spirit — an  idea  which  has 
become  dominant  in  the  modern  church,  and  which 
was  to  find  its  first  organized  expression  in  this  Associ- 
ation. 

This  was  not  recognized  fully  at  the  time.  The 
only  effort  was  to  adapt  the  work  to  the  needs  of 
young  men.  Years  afterwards,  when  physical  education 
had  been  added  to  mental,  spiritual,  and  social  im- 
provement. Dr.  Luther  Gulick  gave  utterance  to  the 
ideal  toward  which  the  Association  is  striving  (Phila- 
delphia Convention,  1889).  He  said  :  "  From  a  scien- 
tific standpoint,  the  Associations  have  a  very  valua- 
ble foundation  for  their  work  in  the  fact  that  they  are 
working  for  young  men,  not  simply  for  their  bodies, 
minds  and  souls,  but  for  the  salvation,  development 
and  training  of  the  whole  man  complete,  as  God  made 
him."  Here  was  a  new  force — an  inter-denominational 
association  of  young  laymen,  animated  with  a  burning 
love  for  Christ,  standing  as  pioneers  behind  three  great 
ideas  which  have  become  characteristic  of  English  and 
American  Christianity : 

The  union  of  denominations  for  service  regardless  of 
creeds. 

The  salvation  of  the  whole  man,  which  has  broad- 
ened out  into  the  Institutional  Church  and  the  present 
practical  interest  in  sociology. 

The  recognition  of  young  people  as  a  factor  in  Chris- 
tian work,  which  has  developed  into  the  marvelous 
young  people's  organizations  of  the  United  States. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  with  all  the 
credit  given  to  it,  has  never  been  fully  recognized  by  the 
Christian  public  as  the  first  organization  to  give  ex- 
pression to  these  three  modern  movements  on  a  large 
scale.     It  has  been  the  pioneer  in  them  all.     In  the 


52  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

face  of  criticism  and  inexperience  it  has  resolutely  en- 
tered new  and  untried  paths,  and  has  demonstrated  the 
value  of  its  methods  and  the  truth  of  its  principles. 

The  Association  was  inaugurated  in  a  revival  on  a 
purely  religious  basis,  upon  a  strictly  evangelical  plat- 
form. It  has  held  tenaciously  to  its  evangelistic  and 
evangelical  origin.  While  clinging  to  its  faith,  it  has 
risen  to  the  practical  position  of  James,  that  "  faith 
without  works  is  dead."  The  Association  has  become 
a  social  factor,  because  it  is  a  religious  force. 

PERSONAL    INTERVIEWS    WITH    NORTON   SMITH   AND 

WILLIAM   CREESE,   TWO   OF   THE   FOUNDERS 

OF    THE    LONDON   ASSOCIATION. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  see  something  of  the  early 
working  of  the  Association,  both  before  and  after  it 
emerged  from  its  birthplace  in  the  Hitchcock  estab- 
lishment in  St.  Paul's  Churchyard. 

In  May,  1894,  I  called  upon  Mr.  Norton  Smith,  for 
years  a  prominent  business  man  in  London,  who  was 
in  Mr.  Hitchcock's  employ  between  October,  1841,  and 
June,  1844.  He  was  a  brother  of  Christopher  W. 
Smith,  Mr.  Williams'  fellow-worker.  During  our  con- 
versation, he  said :  "  Christopher,  my  brother,  came  to 
London  from  Norwich,  in  October,  1841,  fifty-three 
years  ago.  He  w^as  then  twenty-four  years  of  age,  four 
years  older  than  Williams,  and  had  been  a  Christian 
about  four  years.  My  brother  remained  with  the  firm 
for  fifty  years,  until  almost  the  close  of  his  life.  He 
and  George  Williams  slept  together  in  the  same  bed. 
I  was  one  of  the  four  who  occupied  the  same  bedroom. 
My  brother  was  a  great  Bible  student,  and  would  often 
get  up  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  study.  He 
learned  Greek,  and  employed  a  Jew  to  teach  him 
Hebrew.     He  was  always  scholarly  and  studious  in  his 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.     ^3 

habits,  and  very  thorough  and  painstaking.  He  started 
a  Bible  class,  which  was  held  in  our  room,  and  which 
was  attended  by  15  to  20  of  the  young  men.  Prayer 
meetings  were  held  in  different  bedrooms,  but  I  remem- 
ber one  more  especially  held  every  week  in  our  bed- 
room, which  was  led  by  George  Williams.  He  was  a 
very  earnest,  devoted  Christian,  an  impetuous,  ardent 
spirit,  and  a  man  of  great  courage.  We  had  also  a 
Mutual  Improvement  Society  for  lectures  by  members. 
I  remember  I  gave  one  on  '  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.'  We 
had  declamations  and  elocution  exercises  and  wrote 
several  stories.  George  Williams  went  around  every 
Saturday  to  receive  the  two-pence,  or  whatever  the 
young  men  would  give  for  foreign  missions.  The  an- 
niversary of  this  Society  became  later  quite  an  import- 
ant meeting,  which  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hitchcock  at- 
tended.    The  Society  has  existed  for  fifty  years. 

"  My  brother  drew  up  the  first  circular,  and  suggested 
the  name  of  the  Association.  After  the  organization, 
weekly  meetings  were  held  in  the  Coffee  House  on 
Ludgate  Hill,  and  then  at  Radley's  Hotel,  where  some 
of  the  annual  meetings  were  held.  Mr.  R.  C.  L.  Bevan, 
who  became  President  of  the  Association,  was  a  banker 
of  large  means,  and  later  gave  5,000  pounds  toward  the 
purchase  of  Exeter  Hall  for  the  Association.  He  was 
a  prominent  Christian  worker.  Mr.  T.  H.  Tarlton,  the 
first  missionary  (secretary),  w^ho  afterwards  became  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  was  an  earnest, 
beautiful  spirit,  a  good  speaker,  seraphic  in  address. 
When  the  '  early  closing  movement '  began,  Mr. 
Hitchcock  made  a  noble  start.  He  was  among  the 
very  first  to  encourage  '  early  closing,'  without  regard 
to  what  others  did.  I  left  his  employ  shortly  after  the 
i\ssociation  was  established,  but  have  always  remained 
a  member  of  the  Association,  though,  since  I  moved  to 
the  suburbs,  I  have  not  been  able  to  be  active." 


B'j  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIUiw. 

In  June,  at  the  Jubilee  Convention  (1894),  the  writer 
had  a  conversation  with  Mr.  William  Creese,  one  of  the 
first  secretaries  of  the  Association,  He  said  :  "  George 
Williams  and  Christopher  Smith  entered  Mr.  Hitchcock's 
establishment  in  1841.  They  had  started  a  Bible  class 
and  a  prayer  meeting  before  I  came.  Through  their 
influence,  Mr.  Hitchcock  had  already  become  a  Chris- 
tian. I  was  employed  by  the  firm  in  1843.  Mr. 
Hitchcock  engaged  me  without  seeing  me,  through 
the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Edward  Beaumont,  who 
showed  him  one  of  my  letters.  I  received  thirty 
pounds  a  year.  When  I  came,  Mr.  Hitchcock  took 
me  into  his  office,  and  said  :  'You  please  God,  and  you 
will  please  me.'  There  were  about  one  hundred  of  us, 
fifteen  or  sixteen  were  members  of  the  church.  I  was 
of  the  Church  of  England.  George  Williams  was  an 
Independent.  At  the  meeting  for  organization,  there 
were  three  Methodists,  three  Independents,  three  Pres- 
byterians, and  three  Church  of  England.  We  thought 
we  were  not  doing  enough  for  the  young  men  of  our 
house.  We  had  been  reading  Finney's  *  Revival  Lec- 
tures, and  his  'Autobiography,' and  they  had  a  great 
influence  over  us.  We  held  a  series  of  revival  meet- 
ings, in  which  quite  a  number  were  reached ;  one,  the 
president  of  a  '  Free  and  Easy  Club,'  at  a  public  house. 
W^e  divided  the  eighty  or  ninety  in  the  house  who 
were  not  Christians  equally  among  us,  five  or  six  for 
each  of  us.  It  was  done  with  great  care.  We  took  no 
pledge,  but  each  one  worked  and  prayed  for  the  ones 
assigned  to  him,  and  invited  them  to  attend  church. 
This  work  was  wonderfully  blessed.  One  morning, 
Williams  came  down  to  his  work  and  said  to  me,  with 
great  earnestness,  '  Rogers  will  be  converted ;  you 
speak  to  him.'  Rogers  was  the  president  of  the  *  Free 
and  Easy,'  at  the  *  Goose  and  Gridiron.'  I  thought, 
*  can  any  good    thing  come  out  of  Nazareth?'    but  I 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.     55 

watched  him  as  he  worked.  He  looked  different  from 
usual,  and  avoided  people.  I  felt  sure  he  was  '  under 
conviction.'  At  my  first  opportunity  I  had  a  talk  with 
him,  and  as  a  result  he  yielded,  and  became  a  true 
Christian.  Williams  said  to  me  later,  '  I  had  been 
praying  for  him  that  morning,  and  it  seemed  as  if  an 
answer  came  direct  from  God,  which  said,  '  Yes.'  We 
worked  and  prayed,  especially  for  the  men  assigned  to 
us.  Williams  was  a  '  son  of  thunder.'  We  gave  him 
the  hardest  of  the  lot ;  he  was  a  tremendous  personal 
worker.     1  never  knew  his  equal." 

Sec.  io. — Development  of  the  Parent  Associa-  ' 
TioN  FROM  November,  1845-1851. 

The  Association  leaders  were  without  experience, 
facing  a  new  problem,  the  winning  of  the  young  men 
of  London.  They  already  recognized  that  these  young 
men  had  both  spiritual  and  intellectual  needs.  From 
this  time  forth  the  work  has  always  included  these  two 
features.  The  Constitution  had  thrown  down  the  broad 
declaration  that  this  purpose  should  be  achieved  by  any 
means  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  Word  of  God. 
New  members  began  to  crowd  into  the  organization, 
and  the  room  occupied  in  Sergeant's  Inn  was  not  large 
enough  to  contain  them.  A  new  thought  was  pressing 
upon  the  minds  of  the  Committee  of  Management — they 
saw  the  great  numbers  of  young  men  in  London  who 
were  desirous  of  improvement,  but  who  were  not  Chris- 
tians. They  had  already  seen  how  these  young  men 
could  be  influenced  by  "  Mutual  Improvement  Societies," 
organized  in  different  houses  of  business,  and  step  by 
step  led  into  the  prayer  meeting  and  Bible  class,  and 
many  of  them  influenced  to  become  Christians.  They 
decided,  therefore,  to  open  rooms  and  invite  this  class  of 
young  men  "  to  a  well-selected  library,  to  classes  for 
mental  culture  under  Christian  teachers,  and  to  rooms 


5G  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

adapted  to  their  use,  where,  withdrawn  from  the  tempta- 
tion of  ungodly  society,  they  might  spend  their  even- 
ings in  suitable  companionship,  or  in  the  pursuit  of 
useful  information."  ^ 

Accordingly,  in  184S,  after  an  earnest  effort,  larger 
and  more  attractive  rooms  were  secured  on  Gresham 
Street,  a  library,  which  soon  numbered  a  thousand  vol- 
umes was  opened  for  use,  also  a  reading  room  with  cur- 
rent papers  and  reviews,  and  educational  classes  in  prac- 
tical branches.  Opportunity  was  also  given  for  com- 
panionship and  social  intercourse.  The  rooms  were 
not  thrown  open  as  a  public  resort  as  yet,  but  this  was 
the  first  recognition  of  the  craving  of  young  men  for 
companionship  with  each  other,  to  satisfy  which  rap- 
idly became  the  third  great  aim  of  the  Association. 

Young  men  who  were  not  professed  Christians,  for  a 
small  fee  were  given  a  ticket  entitling  them  to  the  vari- 
ous privileges  of  the  Association,  except  taking  part  in 
the  management.  They  were  called  ''^associates'  In 
taking  this  step,  the  Committee  took  great  care  to  have 
it  distinctly  understood  that  they  were  not  lowering  the 
standard  of  membership,  but  simply  increasing  the  op- 
portunity for  the  "members"  to  exercise  an  influence 
over  a  larger  number  of  young  men.  The  report  for 
1849  thus  states  the  Committee's  purpose  (page  13) : 

"  That  without  in  the  slightest  degree  impairing  the 
distinctive  character  and  design  of  membership  in  the 
Association,  of  the  value  of  which  every  year  has 
brought  additional  proof,  many  young  men  of  good 
moral  character  may  be  provided  for,  by  the  society, 
under  the  simple  plan  of  a  money  subscription,  and 
that  by  this  means  in  widening  our  sphere  of  influence 
we  will  be  fulfilling  our  mission,  and  by  God's  help 
promoting  more  largely  the  spiritual  improvement  of 
young  men,"     Thus  the  Association  entered  the  field 

'Shipton's  History,  p.  72. 


Ft;G/NN/NGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOC!, *r ION.      67 

as  a  social  resort  for  young  men,  and  add -id  co  its  Con- 
stitution by  admitting  young  men  of  good  moral  char- 
acter as  "associates."  This  distinction  of  the  two  classes 
of  members  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  understand- 
ing the  development  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation. It  was  the  logical  culmination  of  the  policy 
already  adopted.  In  order  to  bring  young  men  who 
were  not  Christians  under  the  influences  of  young  men 
who  were,  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  the  spiritual 
aim  and  character  of  the  Association,  these  two  classes 
of  membership  were  a  necessity. 

The  Association  movement  was  about  to  step  forth  as 
a  world-wide  organization.  Other  societies  for  young 
men  with  similar  objects  had  arisen,  flourished,  ex- 
tended over  considerable  territory,  exerted  a  marked 
influence  and  then  disappeared,  but  this  organization 
was  based  upon  vital  principles,  which  were  destined  to 
give  it  a  continued  life.  It  had  many  strong  features, 
but  there  are  two  principles  which  have  given  the  As- 
sociation permanency  and  success : 

(i)  The  placing  of  the  management  and  control  in 
the  hands,  only,  of  men  who  had  consecrated  themselves 
to  Jesus  Christ. 

(2)  The  unswerving  devotion  to  the  aim  of  winning 
young  men  to  become  Christians. 

The  Associations  have  extended  over  a  wide  territory, 
they  have  adapted  themselves  to  varying  surroundings, 
and  have  used  countless  agencies,  but  they  have  inva- 
riably been  true  to  these  two  principles,  or  they  have 
ceased  to  exist. 

We  pass  now  to  consider  the  development  during  the 
years  1845-1851,  first  of  the  spiritual,  second  of  the  in- 
tellectual, and  third  of  the  social  agencies  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. 

RELIGIOUS  WORK. 

The  Society  now    (1845-1851)  .began  to  carry  on  a 


58  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

widely  extended  activity.  The  heart  of  the  church  had 
awakened  to  its  appeals.  Christian  business  men  were 
watching  its  efforts  with  interest.  The  Evangelical 
Alliance,  which  has  worked  in  such  close  harmony  with 
the  Association,  was  founded  in  1846,  and  rallied  all  de- 
nominations on  a  common  platform.  The  Evangelical 
party  in  the  Established  Church,  and  the  Non-Con- 
formists were  redoubling  their  zeal  to  win  the  city. 
"Early  closing"  became  an  accomplished  fact  in  the 
winter  of  1849.  The  Exeter  Hall  preaching  services 
for  Sunday  evening,  started  by  the  "  Evangelicals  "  of 
the  Established  Church,  then  forbidden  by  the  church 
authorities  and  re-undertaken  by  the  Dissenters,  soon 
developed  into  the  Sunday  Theatre  services,  in  which 
Lord  Shaftesbury  took  a  prominent  part.^  There  was  a 
strong  public  sympathy  behind  a  movement  which 
aimed  to  save  young  men. 

The  first  form  of  direct  spiritual  endeavor  outside  of 
commercial  houses  which  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  undertook  was  the  devotional  meeting  for 
the  members  of  the  new  organization.  Members  of  the 
Association  carried  on  prayer  meetings,  Bible  classes, 
or  Mutual  Improvement  Societies,  in  the  various  houses 
of  business  in  which  they  were  employed,  and  then 
came  together  to  talk  over  the  work  of  the  week,  and 
pray  for  spiritual  power  and  refreshment.  This  meet- 
ing, at  first  held  once  a  fortnight,  but  very  soon  weekly, 
on  a  week-day  evening,  was  attended  by  members  and 
such  friends  as  they  chose  to  invite,  and  also  by  young 
men  to  whom  the  Committee  gave  invitations.  The 
attendance  by  1847  numbered  80  young  men  at  the 
Parent  Association. 

The  Annual  Report  for  1851  (page  19)  says:  "The 
meetings  for  prayer  have  been  from  the  commencement 
of  the  Association  one  of  the  chief  channels  of  its  life 

*  Hodder's  "  Life  of  Sbaftesburv'." 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      .00 

and  usefulness.  At  the  central  and  district  meetings, 
there  are  about  three  hundred  young  men,  who  thus 
meet  together  regularly.  Very  many  young  Christians 
who  have  to  contend  against  the  unprincipled  push  for 
gain,  or  the  miasma  of  impure  conversation,  have  found 
at  these  meetings  the  emotions  of  a  spiritual  life  quick- 
ened, and  have  gained  courage  to  confess  Christ  before 
his  enemies."  Testimonies  of  individual  members  of 
the  Association  and  of  young  men  who  were  led  to  be- 
come Christians  through  these  devotional  meetings 
abound  in  the  reports. 

The  prayer  meeting  for  members  and  invited  friends 
was  one  of  the  powerful  spiritual  agencies  during  the 
"Formative  Period"  of  the  English  work,  and  one 
destined  to  become  a  permanent  feature. 

The  second  development  in  the  direct  spiritual  work 
was  the  establishment  of  a  Bible  class  for  Sunday  after- 
noon, by  the  secretary,  Mr.  Tarlton,  in  June,  1845.  This 
class  soon  numbered  38  young  men.  A  second  Bible 
class  was  conducted  on  a  week-day  evening  by  George 
Williams.  "  Young  men  on  their  arrival  from  the 
country  were  immediately  introduced  to  these  classes 
by  some  member,  if  found  willing  to  attend."  '^ 

These  classes  were  not  intended  for  advanced  Bible 
study,  but  were  composed  of  young  Christians  or  young 
men  seeking  spiritual  light.  The  one  led  by  George 
Williams  was  especially  adapted  for  recently  converted 
young  men.  The  Sunday  afternoon  class  aimed  directly 
to  win  men  who  were  not  Christians  to  a  decision.  An 
incident  recorded  in  the  Second  Annual  Report  (p.  15), 
November,  1846,  gives  a  picture  of  the  work  of  these 
classes :  "About  nine  months  since  a  member  of  the 
Association  invited  an  unconverted  young  man  to  go 
with  him  to  the  Bible  class  in  Sergeant's  Inn.  He  will- 
ingly  consented,   and   continued   to   attend   regularly. 

^  Page  14,  Second  Annual  Report. 


60  YOUNG  MEN'S  l//A'/SI7AN  ASSOCTATION. 

Some  time  elapsed  without  any  apparent  eflfect  being 
produced  on  his  mind,  but  after  a  time  the  truth  found 
its  way  to  hi?  heart  through  the  powerful  influence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  he  is  now  a  sincere  and  humble 
follower  of  the  Saviour.  No  sooner  had  he  felt  the  value 
of  his  own  soul,  than  his  attention  was  directed  to  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  his  most  intimate  companion.  Hav- 
ing described  to  him  the  change  of  mind  he  had  expe- 
rienced, he  prevailed  on  him  to  attend  the  Bible  class, 
which  through  God's  blessing  has  resulted  in  his  con- 
version. Both  are  now  actively  engaged  as  Sunday- 
school  teachers,  and  have  offered  themselves  for  admis- 
sion to  the  visible  church  of  Christ." 

"  These  classes  are  for  young  men  not  members  of 
churches,  and  form  a  distinctly  evangelistic  effort. 
There  are  no  members  of  the  Association  present  ex- 
cept those  who  are  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  the  neces- 
sary arrangements,  it  being  the  object  of  the  Associa- 
tion that  all  who  through  grace  have  believed,  should 
at  once  take  part  in  Sunday-school  or  ragged  school 
♦^eaching,  or  in  some  of  those  varied  instrumentalities 
by  which  the  Gospel  is  carried  to  the  destitute  and  the 
perishing  on  the  Lord's  Day."  * 

A  third  Bible  class  was  formed  in  1848.  Bible  study 
as  a  means  of  winning  young  men  and  strengthening 
young  Christians  has  ever  remained  a  prominent  feature 
of  the  movement.  The  Association  is  founded  upon 
the  Word  of  God. 

Evangelistic  Bible  classes  were  the  chief  means  used 
at  the  rooms  of  the  London  Association  for  winning 
young  men  to  become  Christians.  This  has  been  true, 
more  in  England  than  in  America,  where  the  *'  Men's 
Gospel  Meetings"  have  become  the  chief  agency. 
Bible  classes  have  been  used  more  in  America  as  a 
means  of  developing  Christians  and  Christian  workers. 

""Occasional  Paper,"  No.  i,  1853,  Gresham  Street,  Loudon,  p.  7. 


JiEG INNINGS  OF  Till-   BRITISH  ASSOCIA  TION.      o. 

The  Annual  Report  for  1849  says:  "The  classes  for 
Biblical  instruction,  and  the  devotional  meetings,  may 
be  regarded  as  the  arteries  and  sinews  of  the  Associa- 
tion." "  It  is,  therefore,  with  gratitude  that  the  Commit- 
tee report  that  their  vigor  has  not  been  impaired,  but 
rather  augmented  by  the  external  effort  of  the  past  year. 
In  the  last  report  (1848)  the  average  weekly  attendance 
at  the  three  Bible  classes  was  stated  to  be  no.  For 
some  time  past  it  has  averaged  200." 

The  chief  work  of  the  Association  during  this  period 
was  not,  however,  the  work  done  at  the  headquarters, 
where  the  Bible  classes  and  prayer  meetings  assembled. 
The  Association  was  conceived  of  as  a  body  of  young 
men  working  for  Jesus  Christ,  "  in  the  sphere  of  their 
daily  calling."  Through  all  this  period  the  organizing 
and  conducting  of  prayer  meetings  and  group  Bible 
classes  in  houses  of  business  continued  to  be  a  leading, 
perhaps  the  chief  feature  of  the  Association's  activity. 
Untold  blessings  followed  this  effort ;  testimonies  simi- 
lar to  those  already  quoted  abound  in  the  early  reports. 
At  the  close  of  the  second  year  (the  fall  of  1846),  relig- 
ious services  had  been  introduced  and  were  main- 
tained throughout  this  period  in  twenty  different  houses 
of  business  employing  no  less  than  a  thousand  young 
men.  At  one  time  the  number  of  houses  increased  to 
thirty. 

The  underlying  principle  of  this  work  is  alluded  to 
frequently  in  the  early  reports — "  That  the  duty  of  the 
members  should  be  to  exert  a  Christian  influence  in  the 
sphere  of  their  daily  calling."  This  constant  testimony 
to  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion  bore  abundant 
fruit.  The  members  came  to  the  meetings  of  the  Asso- 
ciation for  inspiration  and  to  report  their  work,  and 
then  dispersed  through  the  houses  of  business  during 
the  week  and  to  Sunday-schools  and  churches  and  mis- 
sions on  the  Sabbath,  to  engage  in  Christian  endeavor. 


6-:         yOC  'XG  .VE.VS  c//j?/st/ax  assocl-i  tion. 

The  report  for  1S49,  after  summing  up  the  achievement 
of  the  year,  repeats  this  thought :  It  says  : — "We  would 
affectionately  suggest  to  our  brethren  that  the  supreme 
aim  of  vour  daily  life  should  be  to  bring  glor\-  to  your 
Redeemer,  and  that  the  most  appropriate  sphere  for  the 
attainment  of  this  object  is  that  of  your  daily  calling." 

The  nature  of  the  work  in  these  business  establish- 
ments may  be  seen  from  the  following  account  taken 
from  the  report  for  1S47.  A  member  writes  :  "  We  have 
more  than  a  hundred  young  men  in  our  establishment, 
thirtv-seven  of  whom  are  members  of  the  Church  of 
Christ.  It  is  our  pri^•ilege  to  meet  evers-  morning  for 
half  an  hour  for  family  worship  before  commencing  the 
duties  of  the  day.  On  Tuesday  evening  we  have  a 
Bible  class,  and  on  Saturday  evening  a  prayer  meeting. 
Both  are  well  attended  and  often  prove  times  of  great 
spiritual  profit.  We  have  also  a  Mutual  Improvement 
Societv  for  the  deliverance  of  lectures,  debates,  etc. 
The  average  attendance  is  about  50." 

In  close  connection  \\4th  the  devotional  meetings  and 
Bible  classes  in  commercial  houses,  a  form  of  effort  was 
adopted,  bv  which  members  could  make  themselves 
felt  as  thev  went  about  their  daily  occupation.  One  of 
the  powerful  means  of  winning  young  men  used  from 
the  beginning  was  personal  interviews  between  Chris- 
tian voung  men  and  their  companions  on  the  subject  of 
personal  religion.  We  have  already  seen  that  this  was 
the  almost  daily  habit  of  George  Williams,  from  whom 
the  inspiration  came.  It  was  urged  again  and  again  as 
the  highest  form  of  activity  of  the  Association.  An- 
other method  was  a  kind,  sympathetic  personal  pleading 
at  the  close  of  a  meeting  or  Bible  class  with  any  uncon- 
verted young  man  who  might  be  willing  to  remain  for  a 
few  moments'  conversation.  In  the  next  period  this 
developed  into  the  *'  after  meeting,"  following  the 
praver  meeting  and  Bible  class,  to  which  young  men 


BEGINNIA'CS  OF  THE  liRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      63 

seeking  to  become  Christians  were  invited.  The  First 
Annual  Report  read  in  November,  1845,  gives  an  ac- 
count of  this  work  in  one  of  the  commercial  houses.  "  I 
may  mention  as  one  of  the  best  results  of  our  connection 
with  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  the  forma- 
tion among  us  of  a  society,  the  members  of  which  each 
take  a  young  man  in  the  establishment  as  an  especial 
object  of  his  care,  to  seek  by  Christian  persuasion  and 
the  influence  of  companionship  to  induce  him  to  attend 
church  and  prayer  meeting,  and  by  speaking  to  him 
and  praying  for  him  to  bring  him,  through  God's  bless- 
ing, to  the  cross  of  Christ." 

In  the  report  with  which  "  the  formative  period"  of 
the  London  work  closes  occurs  an  illustration  of  the 
way  members  dealt  personally  with  young  men.  One 
writes  (p.  21):  "Two  members  of  your  Association 
kindly  asked  me  to  attend  the  meetings,  where  I 
derived  much  benefit ;  but  I  found  more  from  being 
called  aside  by  them  after  one  meeting,  when  they 
persuaded  me  to  give  up  my  sin  and  turn  to  Him  who 
has  said,  'Whosoever  believeth  on  Christ  shall  not 
perish  but  have  everlasting  life.'  They  kindly  prayed 
with  me,  and  through  these  means  I  was  led  to  see  the 
folly  of  my  sin  and  became  accepted  of  God." 

The  Fourth  Annual  Report,  in  commenting  on  the 
personal  work  of  members,  says:  "That  the  members 
of  the  Association  have  in  their  daily  callings  influenced 
over  6,000  young  men." 

In  December  of  1846,  the  Association  headquarters 
presented  a  busy  scene.  A  prominent  minister  had 
consented  to  prepare  a  special  address  to  young  men, 
which  was  to  be  published  in  a  neat,  attractive  little 
volume.  The  members  of  the  Association  secured  the 
names  of  ten  thousand  young  men  in  London.  A  copy 
of  this  address  was  done  up  carefully,  directed,  and  on 
New  Year's  Day,  January  i,  1847,  presented  to  each  of 


64  rOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

these  ten  thousand  young  men.  "The  novelty  of  these 
addresses,  their  free  bestowment,  and  the  circumstance 
of  their  being  enclosed  personally  to  individuals,  ren- 
dered them  generally  very  acceptable,  and  in  several 
cases  the  Committee  were  made  aware  of  their  useful- 
ness."» 

The  Annual  Report  for  1849  says:  "In  the  great 
majority  of  instances  they  were  received  with  no  less 
good  feeling  than  astonishment."  This  wide  distribu- 
tion of  New  Year's  addresses  on  such  subjects  as  "  Real 
Joy,"  "  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Year,"  "Papers  to 
Young  Men,"  was  continued  for  four  years  and  was  a 
characteristic  feature  of  this  period.  Of  a  similar  na- 
ture was  the  extensive  circulation  of  "  tracts  "  and  small 
leaflets,  filled  with  pithy  statements  of  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. A  special  effort  was  made  for  a  wide  distribution 
of  readable  Christian  literature  upon  the  occasion  with 
which  this  first  period  of  the  London  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  closes  the  first  "  World's  Fair  "  held 
in  London,  1851.  This  exhibition  brought  thousands 
of  strangers  from  all  over  the  world  to  London,  and 
the  Young  IMen's  Christian  Association  made  a  special 
effort  to  present  the  Gospel  to  young  men  who  at- 
tended from  British  and  foreign  lands.  The  meetings 
and  lectures  arranged  failed  to  attract  large  audiences, 
owing  to  the  season  of  the  year,  and  the  excitement  at- 
tendant upon  the  exhibition,  but  the  distribution  of  lit- 
erature proved  very  successful.  London  was  divided 
into  six  districts,  and  two  members  of  the  Association 
assigned  to  each  district.  Every  Sunday  during  the 
exhibition  these  districts  were  canvassed  and  tracts 
given  to  all  young  men  with  whom  the  members  came 
in  contact.  In  this  way  three  hundred  and  fifty-two 
thousand  direct  and  afifectionate  statements  of  the  Gos- 
pel were  presented  to  young  men  from  almost  every 

''  SbiptoD,  "  History  of  the  London  Association,"  p.  40. 


BEGiyNIXGS  OF  TJI1-:  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      65 

town  and  city  of  Great  Britain;  each  leaflet  had  also  a 
statement  about  the  Association,  with  an  invitation  to 
visit  its  rooms.  Those  little  leaflets,  as  the  reports 
show,  not  only  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  many  young 
men,  out  even  in  the  founding  of  young  men's  meetings 
!:i  distant  cities. 

The  Association  had  now  become  a  recognized  spirit- 
ual power.  It  had  demonstrated  that  consecrated  young 
men  compactly  organized  were  a  mighty  force  in 
winning  their  fellows  to  become  Christians.  It  is, 
of  course,  impossible  to  measure  results  of  a  spirit- 
ual character  in  figures,  even  if  they  could  be  se- 
cured. 

The  Association  was  plainly  successful  in  carrying 
out  its  aim.  At  the  first  public  gathering  in  Radley's 
Hotel,  twenty- three  young  men  are  reported  as  having 
been  brought  to  Christ ;  at  the  second  meeting,  held  in 
March,  1845,  one  writer  says  :  "It  gives  us  joy  to  know 
that  six  in  our  house  who  at  our  last  'tea  meeting' 
(November  8,  1844,)  were  strangers  to  God,  and  with- 
out hope  in  the  world,  are  now  happy  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  being  reconciled  to  Him."  The  Fourth 
Annual  Report  (1848)  says:  "The  most  affecting 
fact  is  the  conversion  of  fifty  immortal  souls  during 
the  year.  Almost  the  whole  of  this  number  have  been 
received  into  membership  and  communion  with  dif- 
ferent branches  of  the  Church."  The  Fifth  Report  for 
the  year  1849  states  :  "  During  this  year  we  have  re- 
ceived evidence  that  upwards  of  ninety  young  men  have 
confessed  themselves  indebted  to  the  instrumentality  of 
this  Association  for  their  experience  of  the  force  and 
power  of  the  Gospel.  The  large  majority  of  these  have 
been  received  into  communion  with  the  various  Chris- 
tian churches.  Your  Committee  rejoices  in  the  evidence 
which  is  furnished  by  this  fact,  as  well  as  in  almost 
every  letter  cited  in  their  report,  that  the  labors  of  the 


6Q  i'OUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Association  are  in  every  way  auxiliary  to  the  churches 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  first  seven  years  resulted  in  intensifying  the  spir- 
itual aims  of  the  Association.  It  became  clearly  under- 
stood that  its  chief  object  was  the  winning  to  Jesus 
Christ  of  young  men.  In  these  seven  years,  hundreds, 
perhaps  reaching  to  thousands,  of  young  men  in  Lon- 
don were  converted.  Large  numbers  of  Christians 
were  encouraged  and  led  to  become  workers,  while 
many  more  young  men,  probably  one  hundred  thou- 
sand, had  the  Gospel  presented  to  them  individually. 
The  Association  had  gained  experience,  and  now  had 
definitely  settled  upon  five  lines  of  direct  spiritual 
work  : 

(i)  Devotional  meetings  for  prayer  and  fellowship, 
especially  for  members. 

(2)  Bible  classes  for  both  unconverted  young  men 
and  young  Christians. 

(3)  Religious  services  in  houses  of  business. 

(4)  Personal  work. 

(5)  The  distribution  of  tracts  and  Christian  litera- 
ture. 

INTELLECTUAL   WORK. 

While  the  Association  was  still  a  germ  in  the  Hitch- 
cock business  establishment,  the  "  Mutual  Improvement 
Society"  became  a  part  of  its  work.  In  this  step  was 
involved  the  whole  principle  for  which  the  Association 
stands  in  its  indirect  work  for  young  men.  The  su- 
preme aim  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
has  ever  been  the  extension  of  Christ's  Kingdom.  The 
striking  sociological  fact  already  discussed  is  that  in 
carrying  out  this  purpose  it  has  become  a  powerful 
agency  for  developing  young  men,  intellectually,  so- 
cially and  physically.  It  has  been  led  to  seek  the  sym- 
metrical development  of  the  whole  man.    The  first  step 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOC  I  A  TfON.      67 

was  the  establishment  of  a  course  of  popular  lectures. 
These  were  open  to  the  general  public  and  were  suc- 
cessful from  the  start.  As  many  as  1,400  persons  were 
present  at  single  lectures  given  during  the  first  winter. 
Leading  ministers  of  all  denominations,  statesmen,  uni- 
versity professors  and  philanthropists  have  appeared  in 
this  lecture  course.  It  quickly  became  the  lecture  plat- 
form of  London.  In  the  first  course  of  twelve  lectures 
a  variety  of  interesting  topics  were  treated,  such  as 
"  Monumental  Evidences  of  Christianity,"  "Ancient 
Rome  and  Modern  London,"  "The  Extent  and  the 
Moral  Statistics  of  the  British  Empire,"  "  Luther  and 
the  Reformation,"  and  "Ancient  and  Modern  Pales- 
tine." These  lectures  were  given  weekly  during  a 
period  of  twelve  weeks,  usually  beginning  about  De- 
cember ist.  "  For  three  years  the  lectures  were  deliv- 
ered in  alternate  w^eeks  at  the  Wesleyan  Centenary  Hall 
in  the  city  and  at  a  room  in  the  West  End  of  London. 
The  tickets  for  this  course  of  twelve  lectures  were  sold 
for  a  shilling,  or  two-pence  for  a  single  lecture." ^"^ 
Young  men  attended  them  in  large  numbers.  The 
lectures  were  published,  and  thousands  of  copies 
found  a  ready  sale.  In  1849,  the  Committee  ventured 
to  rent  the  large  Exeter  Hall  for  this  lecture  course. 
The  result  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  this  decision. 
This  large  audience  room,  seating  from  2,500  to  3,000 
people,  where  Wilberforce  had  championed  the  rights 
of  the  slave,  where  the  "  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  "  had  held  its  stirring  anniversary,  where  the 
"May  Meetings"  of  the  myriad  religious  and  benev- 
olent agencies  of  London  and  England  voiced  the  needs 
of  a  world,  where  Lord  Shaftesbury  had  pleaded  the 
cause  of  the  oppressed,  and  where  many  a  devoted  mis- 
sionary has  bidden  farewell  to  England  as  he  set  his  face 

>  ^"^  Stevenson's   "Young  Men's  Christian  Association,"  I,ondou, 
1884,  p.  41. 


C8  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

to  the  foreign  field ;  tins  consecrated  hall  opening  on 
the  crowded  Strand,  destined  in  later  years  to  become 
the  home  of  the  Association,  became  after  1849  the 
platform  of  its  winter  lecture  courses,  which  were 
called  the  "Exeter  Hall  Lectures."  The  Association 
was  a  pioneer  in  the  lecture  field ;  it  has  exerted  a  great 
influence. 

As  new  Associations  have  been  formed  they  have  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  the  parent  Association,  until  to- 
day thousands  of  lectures  are  delivered  annually  from 
the  platform  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 
In  the  Report  for  1851,  the  close  of  the  "Formative 
Period"  of  the  London  work,  the  Committee  said  (p. 
10) :  "  When  we  commenced  this  form  of  effort  it  was 
an  experiment  of  such  interest  as  to  involve  decided 
public  influences  in  its  success.  This  result  may  be 
seen  in  the  stimulant  to  similar  effort  which  has  been 
widely  diffused,  and  in  the  greatly  improved  tone  and 
tendency  of  public  lectures  generally.  The  fact  that  in 
connection  with  the  Association  alone  there  have  been 
above  120  lectures  for  young  men  during  the  past  year, 
suggests  an  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  this  agency  has 
already  been  multiplied.  Of  the  lectures  delivered  in 
London,  above  half  a  million  copies  have  been  circu- 
lated, and  who  shall  tell  the  work  which  they  have 
silently  done  ;  the  fibre  and  muscle  of  character  which 
in  God's  hands  they  may  have  supplied  to  thousands. 
The  lectures  were  of  a  decidedly  Protestant  character 
and  of  a  high  moral  tone." 

The  Report  for  1849  says  (p.  10) :  "  In  very  many  in- 
stances young  men  are  drawn  to  the  Hall  who  are  unac- 
customed to  attend  the  ordinary  means  of  spiritual 
instruction.  In  others,  the  lectures  prove  a  direct  means 
of  religious  awakening,  and  in  others  the  first  step  to 
the  churches."  "  In  one  instance,  the  mind  of  an  inter- 
esting young  man  was  opened  to  apprehend  God's  way 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      69 

of  salvation,  who  has  since  entered  one  of  the  universi- 
ties, with  a  view  to  prepare  himself  for  the  sacred  work 
of  the  ministry."  In  the  Report  for  1850,  a  young  man 
writes :  "  It  will,  I  know,  be  gratifying  to  you  to  hear 
that  the  first  awakening  of  my  soul  to  its  true  state  was 
consequent  upon  attending  the  last  course  of  lectures 
given  at  Exeter  Hall." 

How  directly  what  are  called  the  "  secular  agencies  " 
began  from  the  first  to  minister  to  the  main  purpose  of 
the  Association  is  seen  from  these  and  other  testimo- 
nies in  the  report.  Here  was  a  new  thought,  a  discov- 
ery of  great  moment.  It  was  found  that  certain  agen- 
cies usually  regarded  as  secular,  under  Christian  admin- 
istration, might  be  used  to  win  men  to  a  religious  life. 
The  development  of  this  idea  grew  with  the  Associa- 
tion. 

It  belongs  to  the  fundamental  idea  that  religion  aims 
to  save  the  whole  man,  and  whatever  helps  to  make 
him  a  better  man  in  body,  mind  or  spirit,  lifts  him  to  a 
higher  life. 

The  opening  of  the  library  and  reading  room,  Octo- 
ber I,  1848,  has  already  been  alluded  to.  This  was  an 
additional  recognition  of  the  intellectual  needs  of  young 
men.  The  Report  for  1850  says :  "  The  Committee  are 
thankful  to  record  that  the  experience  of  the  past  year 
has  fully  realized  the  anticipations  by  which  they  were 
led  to  open  the  library  and  reading  room  in  Gresham 
Street.  Five  hundred  young  men  have  availed  them- 
selves of  the  privileges  it  aflfords,  and  many  have  been 
led  in  consequence  to  attend  the  religious  meetings  of 
the  Association.  Classes  are  in  operation  in  French, 
German,  Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  mathematics, 
arithmetic  and  book-keeping,  in  history  and  essay  writ- 
ing, and  for  the  practice  of  Psalmody.  Arrangements 
have  been  made  for  the  delivery  of  a  lecture  course  at 
the  rooms  of  the  Association  every  alternate  week,  save 


70  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

during  the  winter  session  at  Exeter  Hall."  By  June^ 
1849,  ^^  number  of  volumes  in  the  library  had  reached 
one  thousand.  By  1851,  the  number  of  young  men 
using  the  advantages  of  the  library  numbered  650,  of 
whom  425  were  *'  associates."  Mr.  Shipton,  who  took 
charge  as  Secretary,  near  the  close  of  1850,  writes :  "  In 
accordance  with  the  desire  and  expectation  of  the  Com- 
mittee, many  of  those  who  have  attended  the  library 
and  reading  rooms  have  also  frequented  the  Bible 
class  and  devotional  meeting,  and  have  entered  upon 
the  profession  of  their  faith  in  the  Gospel  there  illus- 
trated and  proclaimed.  Very  many  thus  brought  within 
the  influence  of  the  Association  would  not  otherwise 
have  been  reached."  ^ 

In  1853,  speaking  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  friends 
of  the  Association,  Mr.  Samuel  Morley  said :  "  The 
great  attraction  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, to  my  own  mind,  has  been  this, — that  it  has  pre- 
sented us  a  platform  on  which  various  kinds  of  agencies 
may  be  brought  to  bear  for  the  benefit  of  young  men. 
I  need  scarcely  say  that  we  believe  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  spiritual  life  in  young  men,  and  that  there  is  pro- 
vided here  a  large  arrangement  of  Bible  classes  and 
other  forms  of  religious  teaching,  from  which  I  am  quite 
sure  that  great  benefit  has  been  derived.  But  no  one 
acquainted  with  the  life  of  a  young  man  in  London  can 
be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  he  is  surrounded  with 
temptations  of  the  most  horrible  kind,  leading  young 
men  into  habits  by  which  hundreds  die  off  every  year 
from  pure  physical  ruin,  and  it  has  been  to  me  a  source 
of  great  satisfaction  to  have  opportunity  for  oflfering  in 
plain  and  distinct  language  advice  to  young  men  on  the 
ruinous  tendency  of  such  conduct." 

^  Shipton's  History  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
Exeter  Hall  Lectures,  Vol.  I.,  1855. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  Till-  nRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      71 
THE    SOCIAL   WORK. 

The  very  name  "  Association  of  Young  Men  "  sug- 
gests companionship,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
leaders  early  recognized  the  need  of  a  resort  for  young 
men  under  elevating  influences.  One  of  the  objects 
in  organizing  the  Sunday  afternoon  Bible  class  was  to 
give  young  men  an  opportunity  to  meet  together  under 
wholesome  influences,  instead  of  wasting  the  Sabbath 
in  idleness  or  sin.  Mr.  Shipton  stated  it  thus :  "  It 
was  an  endeavor  to  provide  a  resort  for  steady  youths 
without  homes,  and  by  kindly,  social  intercourse  to 
pave  the  way  for  the  influence  of  public  worship." 

The  conception,  however,  of  the  Association  as  a  re- 
sort, open  day  and  night,  frequented  by  young  men,  in 
order  to  draw  them  away  from  temptation,  did  not 
really  take  shape  until  the  opening  of  the  rooms  in 
Gresham  Street,  in  October,  1848.  Here  the  sociolog- 
ical fact  that  young  men  can  be  influenced  by  changing 
their  environment  began  to  find  expression.  Within  a 
year,  four  hundred  young  men  who  were  not  Christians 
were  led  to  frequent  these  attractive  rooms,  take  advan- 
tage of  the  reading  room,  library,  and  educational 
classes,  and  mingle  with  the  Christian  young  men 
who  were  members  of  the  society.  In  order  to  keep 
these  young  men  more  continually  under  this  influence, 
a  restaurant  was  opened  in  the  Gresham  Street  apart- 
ments, between  5  and  10  in  the  evening,  so  that  young 
men  for  a  reasonable  price  could  get  their  evening  tea 
at  the  rooms,  and  opportunity  be  aSbrded  them  to 
spend  the  evening  in  the  wholesome  surroundings  of 
the  Association. 

"  Occasional  Paper,"  No.  i,  says  :  "  We  desire  by  these 
means  to  present  some  counter  attraction  to  the  places 
of  social  and  convivial  resort  open  to  young  men  after 
the  hours  of  business"  (p.  6). 


72  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

The  Annual  Report  for  1852  states  :  "  None  can  re- 
ally know  the  isolation  and  discomfort  of  young  men's 
lodgings  without  perceiving  that  they  are  necessarily 
exposed  to  terrible  temptation.  Many  have  confessed 
that  our  rooms,  with  the  quiet  retirement  and  intelli- 
gent companionship  they  afford,  have  been  among  the 
greatest  blessings  they  enjoy."  The  rooms  were  the 
office  of  the  "Agent"  of  the  Association,  and  many  in- 
stances are  recorded  of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  of 
personal  interviews  with  young  men,  who  were  led  by 
him  to  become  Christians.  Since  the  year  1848,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  exercised  a 
mighty  influence  as  a  social  resort. 

This  feature  of  Association  activity  was  destined  to 
be  more  fully  developed  in  America,  but  it  originated 
with  the  parent  Association  at  London.  The  London 
organization  in  Gresham  Street  had  become  in  1851  a 
well-defined  institution,  seeking  to  provide  for  the  spir- 
itual, intellectual  and  social  needs  of  young  men. 

Sec.  II. — Financial  History. 

The  early  Association  movement  cannot  be  appreciated 
without  a  knowledge  of  its  financial  policy.  There  is  no 
brighter  page  in  the  history  of  the  church  than  the 
financial  progress  of  this  work  for  young  men  during 
the  last  fifty  years.  The  self-denying  love  on  the  part 
of  young  men  struggling  to  get  a  footing  in  the  world ; 
the  noble  devotion  of  Christian  business  men ;  the  un- 
faltering persistence  and  apostolic  faith  of  finance  com- 
mittees, who  have  accepted  the  part  assigned  to  them  as 
an  important  trust,  have  marked  the  Association's 
financial  history  from  its  foundation. 

Sixpence  was  the  humble  fee  charged  for  admission 
at  first,  with  a  similar  amount  due  quarterly.  At  the 
first  half-yearly  tea  given  at  Radley's  Hotel  in  Novem- 
ber, 1844,  the  Committee  stated  what  has  been  the  finan- 


BEGIXNIXGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIA  HON.      73 

cial  policy  of  the  organization  ever  since.  "  The  Com- 
mittee begs  leave  to  remark  that  though  this  sum  (six- 
pence per  quarter)  will  be  insufficient  to  defray  current 
expenses,  yet  it  has  been  considered  advisable  to  place 
so  low  a  sum  as  a  quarterly  subscription,  relying  on  the 
spontaneous  liberality  of  members  and  friends,  for  the 
additional  expense  of  the  work." 

Following  this  gathering,  steps  were  at  once  under- 
taken to  secure  130  pounds  as  the  salary  for  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Association.  The  Committee  estab- 
lished a  precedent  which  became  a  principle  with  the 
organization :  On  the  ground  that  a  young  man  was  of 
greater  service  to  his  employer  for  being  a  Christian 
man,  they  invited  merchants,  and  others,  who  employed 
young  men,  to  contribute  to  the  Association.  By  Jan- 
uary, 1845,  the  sum  of  70  pounds  had  been  contributed 
by  the  young  men  themselves,  and  business  men  inter- 
ested in  the  work.  In  1S45,  Mr.  Geo.  Hitchcock  accept- 
ed the  position  of  treasurer.  This  was  an  important 
advance  and  bears  a  vital  relation  to  the  growth  of  the 
Association.  The  early  financial  history  of  the  organi- 
zation is  bound  up  with  the  life  of  this  man.  He  had 
already  contributed  more  largely  than  any  one  else 
toward  the  fund  to  secure  a  missionary.  His  first  act  as 
treasurer  was,  at  his  own  expense,  to  equip  and  rem 
suitable  rooms  for  the  Association  in  Sergeant's  Inn. 
The  receipts  of  the  Association  for  1846  were  287 
pounds;  the  disbursements  372  pounds;  the  balance,  85 
pounds,  was  loaned  to  the  Association  by  Mr.  Hitchcock. 
The  membership  dues  at  the  close  of  the  second  year 
were  abolished,  and  the  Association  was  supported  en- 
tirely by  voluntary  contributions,  but  all  young  men, 
whether  members  or  associates,  habitually  using  the 
library,  reading  room,  and  other  privileges  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, paid  an  annual  fee  of  ten  shillings.  In  addition 
to  these  dues  manv  vounsf  men  made  contributions  from 


74  VOLWG  Jl/BN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

their  small  incomes,  which  showed  their  devotion  to  the 
work.  The  year  1845-1846,  Geo.  Williams  and  Mr. 
Durrant,  both  of  the  original  Committee  of  twelve,  gave 
two  pounds  each.  Two  other  young  men  gave  one 
pound,  one  shilling  each.  Five  gave  10  shillings  each. 
The  third  year  the  debt  of  85  pounds  and  the  expenses, 
a  total  of  600  pounds,  were  all  paid,  leaving  a  balance 
of  eight  pounds  in  the  treasury. 

The  fourth  year  the  expenses  were  608  pounds.  The 
expenses  of  the  next  year  were  very  large,  owing  to 
occupying  and  equipping  of  the  Gresham  Street  rooms. 
By  a  vigorous  effort  over  2,100  pounds  were  raised  and 
expended  upon  the  year's  work  for  1849.  The  apart- 
ments thus  provided  with  parlors,  secretary's  rooms, 
library  and  educational  class-rooms  laid  the  foundation 
for  future  work.  Annual  subscriptions  are  reported  of  25, 
20,  and  15  pounds  each.  Mr.  Bevan,  the  president,  gave 
41  pounds,  and  Mr.  Geo.  Hitchcock  made  the  generous 
donation  of  161  pounds  and  five  shillings.  Mr.  Geo. 
Williams  showed  his  devotion  by  giving  what  must 
have  been  a  sacrifice  at  the  time,  the  sum  of  25  pounds 
toward  the  new  equipment.  The  expenditures  for  1850 
were  2,080  pounds,  with  a  balance  in  the  treasury  of  56 
pmmds.  The  Association  was  now  undertaking  an  ex- 
tensive work.  Its  varied  agencies  required  large 
amounts  of  money.  The  great  exhibition  was  close  at 
hand  and  the  Committee  determined  to  take  advantage 
of  the  opportunity  this  would  afford,  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel to  large  throngs  of  young  men  who  would  crowd  the 
capital.  To  do  this  required  increased  means.  Mr. 
Geo.  Hitchcock  enlarged  his  contribution  to  the  liberal 
sum  of  350  pounds;  besides  giving  150  pounds  toward 
equipping  the  rooms  opened  by  the  branch  in  the  West 
End.  The  expenses  for  the  year  were  3,438  pounds,  all 
but  30  pounds  of  which  were  raised  during  the  year. 
The  records  frequently  make  mention  of  Mr.  Hitchcock's 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRiriSH  ASSOCIA  TION.      1\ 

benevolence.  The  report  for  1849  says:  "The  Com* 
mittee  would  hereby  thankfully  acknowledge  the  in- 
creased obligation  of  the  Association  for  the  magnificent 
and  kind  assistance  which,  in  a  variety  of  ways,  has 
been  rendered  by  their  respected  and  beloved  treasurer, 
Mr.  George  Hitchcock." 

Sec.  12. — Extension  of  the  Association. — 1845-51. 

Life  manifests  itself  by  growth;  it  also  manifests  itself 
by  reproduction.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions began  to  multiply.  The  young  men  who  formed 
the  first  organization  had  in  view  first  the  employees  in 
one  commercial  establishment,  then  the  young  men  of 
the  commercial  classes  of  London,  then  at  their  first 
"tea  meeting"  in  1844,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Owen, 
the  idea  was  seized  upon  of  making  an  effort  for  all  the 
young  men  of  London,  and  if  possible  reaching  out  to 
other  cities  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  aim  of  the 
leaders  grew  rapidly.  Their  hearts  beat  in  sympathy 
with  the  tempted  young  men  walking  the  city  streets  of 
commercial  England.  Their  plans  leaped  forth  to  reach 
all  young  men,  even  while  they  were  struggling  to  solve 
the  problems  of  a  new  organization  at  home. 

The  first  move  of  the  Association,  as  we  have  learned, 
was  to  open  a  headquarters  in  a  coflfee  house  at  Ludgate 
Hill.  Not  satisfied  with  this  effort,  before  the  Associa- 
tion was  nine  months  old,  a  branch  Association  was 
formed  in  the  West  End  of  London,  with  a  fortnightly 
meeting  held  in  a  Sunday-school  room  in  Swallow 
Street.  This  branch,  by  March  6th,  1845,  numbered  fifty 
members.  For  the  first  three  years,  half  of  the  lectures 
were  carried  on  in  this  section  of  the  city.  When  Mr. 
Tarlton  became  secretary,  early  in  1845,  efforts  were 
immediately  undertaken  to  establish  branch  Associations 
in  different  parts  of  London,  and  before  the  end  of  the 
second  year,  branches   had   been   formed  at  four  new 


7()  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

points,  so  that  in  November,  1846,  18  months  after  the 
organization  in  the  Hitchcock  establishment,  including 
the  original  central  or  city  Association,  and  the  branch 
at  the  West  End,  there  were  six  Associations  in  Lon- 
don. The  relation  of  these  branches,  as  they  were 
called,  to  the  parent  Association,  was  a  perfectly  volun- 
tary one.  The  constitution  of  the  London  "City  "  Asso- 
ciation was  amended  so  as  to  read,  "Associations  which 
are  willing  to  unite  with  this  society,  being  similar  in 
their  constitution  and  object,  and  adopting  the  spirit  of 
the  second,  third,  eighth  and  ninth  rules  of  the  Associa- 
tion, shall  be  recognized  as  in  connection  with  and  by 
mutual  consent  termed  branches  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association"  (2d  Report). 

The  rules  specified  refer: 

To  the  object  of  the  Association,  the  spiritual  and 
mental  improvement  of  young  men,  by  any  means  in 
accordance  with  the  Scriptures.  To  the  management  of 
the  organization,  by  a  committee  elected  by  the  mem- 
bership, and  to  the  membership,  which  must  consist  of 
young  men  who  give  decided  evidence  of  conversion  to 
God. 

These  were  the  three  points  which  the  Committee 
deemed  the  essential  basis  for  fellowship  with  other 
Associations.  They  are  of  especial  interest  as  showing 
the  features  which  were  regarded  as  the  chief  essentials 
of  the  new  movement  by  its  founders.  Each  branch 
filed  a  copy  of  its  constitution  with  the  parent  body ; 
sent  it  an  annual  report,  abstracts  of  which  were  printed 
in  the  report  of  the  central  work.  By  vote  of  the  Cen- 
tral Committee,  members  of  branches  were  considered 
"  members  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association." 
Thus  a  member  was  recognized  as  belonging  not  to  his 
own  local  branch  alone,  but  to  the  whole  movement. 

But  London  did  not  bound  the  horizon  of  these  young 
men.     The  report  read  in  March,   1845,  ^'^  ^'^^  second 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      11 

"tea  gathering  "  at  Radley's  Hotel,  echoes  the  resolution 
passed  in  November  of  the  year  before,  when  it  was  re- 
solved to  employ  a  missionary  to  work  among  the  young 
men  of  London.  This  March  report  says:  "  Nor  would 
we  confine  ourselves  to  the  metropolis,  but  through  the 
medium  of  our  missionaries,  extend  ourselves  and  form 
similar  Associations  in  all  the  large  towns  and  cities  of 
the  Kingdom." 

The  industrial  changes  of  the  century  had  made  Eng- 
land a  nation  of  cities.  The  same  conditions,  modified 
somewhat  but  in  the  main  the  same  as  in  London,  pre- 
vailed in  all  the  cities  of  the  Kingdom.  Industrial  Eng- 
land was  full  of  young  men  away  from  home,  without 
home  comforts,  without  opportunities  for  social,  intel- 
lectual or  spiritual  improvement,  tempted,  irreligious,  in 
the  midst  of  the  rush  of  city  life. 

The  same  awful  need  prevailed,  and  with  it  too,  in 
nearly  every  city,  a  small  group  of  young  men  were  found 
who  were  loyal  to  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  only  necessary  for 
a  knowledge  of  the  London  movement  to  spread  for  it  to 
take  root  and  become  a  national  endeavor.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  policy  already  mentioned,  in  1846,  prob- 
ably in  April  or  Alay,  deputations  fro;n  London,  consist- 
ing of  members  of  the  Association,  generally  with  Mr. 
Tarlton  as  their  leader,  visited  Manchester,  Liverpool, 
Taunton,  Exeter,  and  Leeds,  and  organized  in  each  of 
these  cities  the  nucleus  of  a  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  on  the  London  model.  The  movement  had 
been  metropolitan,  it  now  became  national.  The  fol- 
lowing year,  1847,  Associations  were  organized  in  Hull, 
Oxford,  Derby,  and  Bath.  These  were  followed  by 
others,  which  have  become,  as  the  years  passed,  centers 
of  influence  in  every  city  of  the  United  Kingdom.  In 
1848,  Associations  at  Sheffield,  Bristol,  and  Reading 
were  added  to  the  list.  These  Associations  varied  in 
strength   and   vitality,   in  proportion  to  the  zeal  and 


78  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

genius  of  the  Christian  young  men  of  the  various  com- 
munities, but  on  the  whole  they  were  remarkably  suc- 
cessful. Earnest  men  perceived  that  the  Association 
had  grasped  a  valuable  idea,  and  encouraged  the  young 
men  to  carry  it  out.  These  various  societies  adopted 
rules  similar  to  the  London  constitution,  filed  them  with 
the  parent  Association  to  which  they  sent  reports  for  the 
London  annual  meeting,  in  the  same  way  as  the  metro- 
politan branches.  They  were  called,  in  contrast.  Pro- 
vincial Branches.  By  the  end  of  the  formative  period 
of  the  British  work  (1851),  Associations  had  been  formed 
at  eight  points  in  London,  including  the  original  organ- 
ization, and  in  sixteen  different  cities  in  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland. 

The  same  conditions  of  membership  prevail  in  all: 
"  Members  must  be  young  men  who  give  decided  evi- 
dence of  conversion  to  God."  Since  1848,  young  men  of 
good  moral  character,  by  the  payment  of  a  small  fee, 
were  allowed  to  become  "  associates,"  with  the  privilege 
of  enjoying  all  the  benefits  of  the  Association,  but  were 
not  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office.  The  membership  of 
the  "City  Association,"  as  the  original  Association  was 
called,  from  its  loca^tion  in  that  part  of  the  metropolis 
called  the  *'  City,"  shows  a  steady  growth.  Twelve 
young  men  organized  the  Association  in  June,  1844; 
their  number  had  increased  by  November,  to  70;  in 
March,  1845,  to  160;  in  November,  1846,  to  200.  After 
this  year,  the  report  is  given  for  the  entire  metropolitan 
district.  In  1847,  the  number  of  members  in  London 
was  380;  in  1848,  the  membership  was  480;  in  1849,  it 
numbered  600 ;  this  includes  the  "  associates,"  who  were 
admitted  to  the  privileges  of  the  Association.  The 
membership  for  1850  has  not  been  recorded,  but  at  the 
close  of  this  period  the  membership  of  the  Central 
Association  alone  numbers  425  "associates"  and  225 
"members,"  a  total  of  650,   and  there  were  probably 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION.      79 

1,400  members  and  associates  indentified  with  the  move- 
ment in  metropolitan  London. 

It  is  difficult  to  learn  definitely  of  the  membership  of 
the  Provincial  Branches.  In  November,  1849,  the  num- 
ber had  reached  520  outside  of  London.  The  Associa- 
tion continued  to  increase  both  in  number  of  organiza- 
tions and  membership  until  by  the  end  of  185 1  the  eight 
London  societies  and  the  16  Provincial  branches,  in  all 
24  Associations,  enrolled  some  2,700  young  men.  By 
1858,  the  total  membership  of  the  United  Kingdom  had 
reached  8,500  "  members  "  and  "  associates  "  in  47  Asso- 
ciations. 

Sec   13. — Summary  of  the  Results  from  1844-1851. 

In  this  short  period  a  great  advance  had  taken  place. 
The  Association  had  become  firmly  established  in  the 
affections  of  a  large  group  of  Christian  young  men  and 
business  men.  The  aim  was  a  purely  spiritual  one  and 
the  conception  of  religion  was  puritan  and  ascetic,  but 
the  social  ideal  of  service  was  imperceptibly  broadening 
the  spirit  and  work  of  the  new  organization  with  an 
irresistable  power.  The  Christian  spirit  in  the  sordid 
urban  environment  of  1850  was  radically  developing 
methods  for  the  religious  and  social  education  of  the 
whole  man  and  the  leading  of  him  out  into  service  for 
his  associates.  Young  laymen  of  all  denominations  were 
working  in  the  same  organization  and  getting  a  broader 
spirit  of  Christian  unity.  The  Association  had  inaugu- 
rated a  movement  which  was  carrying  on  religious  meet- 
ings in  a  large  number  of  business  houses  and  it  had 
estabHshed  a  club  house  for  the  members  with  many 
social  features.  It  maintained  its  relation  with  the  church 
by  requiring  that  all  voting  members  must  be  Christian 
men,  but  it  held  out  a  welcome  to  young  men  of  good 
character  who  desired  to  become  associates. 


80  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

In  seven  years,  the  Association  had  revolutionized  public 
sentiment  regarding  the  claims  of  young  men.  It  had 
been  one  of  the  chief  factors  in  shortening  the  hours  of 
labor  for  commercial  young  men.  It  had  influenced 
directly  or  indirectly  tens  of  thousands  of  young  men,  and 
led  many  hundreds  to  become  followers  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  to  become  members  of  his  church. 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT. 

Sec.  14. — Preparation  in  the  American  Church. — 

1 800- 1 85 1. 

We  are  to  turn  our  eyes  to  a  new  theatre  of  action,  a 
laud  which,  while  it  has  received  from  Europe  its  popu- 
lation, and  its  political,  social,  and  religious  ideas,  has 
nevertheless  developed  a  decided  individuality  of  its 
own.  It  is  in  America  that  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  has  achieved  its  greatest  success.  The 
World's  Committee,  in  the  report  made  at  the  London 
conference  in  1894,  said:  "The  Associations  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada  present  the  picture  of  a  pow- 
erful, active,  and  complete  organization.  They  are  well 
at  the  head  of  our  whole  work,  and  their  influence  is 
felt  far  beyond  the  American  Continent."  ^ 

We  must  study  briefly  the  development  of  the  relig- 
ious forces  of  America,  and  the  industrial  situation,  in 
order  to  understand  the  American  movement.  The 
distinguishing  characteristic  of  American  Christianity  is 
the  freedom  of  the  Church  from  the  State.  So  long  has 
this  been  the  accepted  policy  that  the  subject  in  America 
scarcely  excites  a  passing  interest,  and  yet  it  is  the  great 
contribution  of  America  to  the  history  of  Christianity. 
The  Declaration  of  Amer.can  Independence  introduced 
an  entirely  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Church. 
Europe,  with  its  piled  ecclesiastical  traditions,  lay  many 
miles  across  the  sea.     For  the  first  time  since  the  days 

2  "  Fifty  Years'  Work  Among  Young  Men,"   page  11,  English 
Edition  ;  Exeter  Hall,  London.  i8e/» 


82  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

of  Constantine  the  Church  was  free  to  develop  among  a 
great  people,  unfettered  by  union  with  the  government, 
and  this  time  it  was  to  be  a  free  Church,  protected  in 
its  functions,  not  persecuted  by  a  hostile,  civil  power. 
The  history  of  the  American  Church  previous  to  the  in- 
troduction of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in 
1851  falls  into  three  periods:  (i)  The  Colonial  Period, 
1607  to  1776.  (2)  The  Period  of  Reorganization,  1776 
to  18 1 5.  (3)  The  Period  of  Rapid  Extension  through- 
out the  growing  Republic,  1815  to  1851.  It  is  necessary 
to  trace  briefly  the  events  which  are  of  vital  importance 
to  our  subject. 

THE    FOUNDING    OF    THE    AMERICAN    CHURCH    DURING 
THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD. 

Europe  has  furnished  the  elements  from  which  the 
American  Church  has  developed,  but  the  chronological 
order  of  their  introduction  into  the  United  States  has 
been  reversed.  An  analysis  with  reference  to  the 
European  origin  of  the  religious  forces  of  the  United 
States  shows  that  they  spring  from  four  sources:  The 
Old  Roman  Church;  The  Reformation;  The  Puritan 
and  the  Wesleyan  Revivals.  The  Roman  Catholic 
Church  owes  its  present  strength  to  recent  immigration 
from  Ireland  and  Europe.  It  was  not  a  moulding  force 
in  the  founding  of  the  nation,  except  in  one  colony. 

The  second  element  of  American  Christianity  contin- 
ues directly  the  Protestant  Reformation  of  the  Sixteenth 
century.  The  two  churches  which  stand  directly  for  the 
Reformation  are  the  Episcopal  and  the  Lutheran.  The 
Lutheran,  and  the  kindred  German  bodies,  like  the 
Roman  Church,  owe  their  present  strength  to  more  re- 
cent immigrations.  The  Episcopal  Church,  however, 
was  the  first  introduced  into  America,  and  has  had  a 
continuous  history  since  the  founding  of  the  Jamestown 
Colony  in  1607.     For  a  century,  the  Church  of  England 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  83 

was  the  dominant  religion  in  the  South.  While  the 
spirit  of  loyalty  to  the  British  Crown  prevailed,  the 
Anglican  Church  nourished  the  religious  life  of  Virginia 
and  the  Southern  Colonies  as  well  as  the  isolated  char- 
acter of  the  wilderness  would  permit.  But  the  Church 
was  poorly  organized,  and  the  sentiment  against  an 
establishment  of  religion  early  developed.  The  Ameri- 
can Church  had  no  Bishop,  but  was  in  close  connection 
with  the  English  establishment  under  the  direction  of 
the  Bishops  of  London.  This  led  it  to  be  regarded  as 
an  ally  of  the  British  government.  The  annals  previous 
to  the  Revolution  are  full  of  struggles  between  the 
people  and  the  rectors  over  their  salaries,  which  were 
raised  by  taxation. 

At  the  close  of  the  colonial  period,  the  Episcopal 
Church  was  in  a  reduced  condition.  It  had  some  fol- 
lowing in  Connecticut  and  New  York,  but  only  three 
mission  stations  in  Pennsylvania.  Outside  of  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  it  was  supported  as  a  mission  under  the 
British  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel.  "  In 
the  South,  there  had  been  a  distinct  retrogression.  Even 
in  faithful  old  Virginia  dissenters  were  two  to  one.  The 
result  of  the  fatal  breach  between  clergy  and  people 
had  already  appeared.  Church  buildings  were  falling 
into  neglect ;  many  of  the  clergy  had  withdrawn,  *  * 
*  while  further  south  the  condition  was  no  better."  ^ 
The  Episcopal  Church  was  still  further  shattered  by 
the  Revolution.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  there 
were  only  90  clergymen  in  Virginia,  and  at  its  close 
there  were  28;  in  1812,  only  13  could  be  rallied  to  at- 
tend the  first  convention.  ^  The  Church  was  also 
weakened  by  being  wantonly  deprived  of  its  en- 
dowments by  disestablishment.  It  was  not  until 
about   1835  th^t  ^^^^  Episcopal  Church  became  again 

'  McConnell's  History  of  the  American  Episcopal  Cluirch,  p.  182. 
*  McConnell's  History  of  the  American  Episcopal  Church,  p.  38S. 


84  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

a  vigorous  factor  in  the  religious  life  of  the  United 
States.  It  was  one  of  the  chief  forces  in  introducing 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  produced 
the  leader  of  the  American  movement  during  the  first 
period  of  its  history. 

The  third  and  chief  source  from  which  America  drew 
her  religious  life  was  the  great  Puritan  movement  of 
the  17th  century.  The  lineal  descendants  of  this  Puri- 
tan revival  are  the  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists. 
The  Baptists,  who  were  also  earnest  in  advocating  sep- 
aration between  the  civil  and  religious  powers,  and  the 
doctrine  that  the  Church  should  be  composed  only  of 
believers,  as  a  movement  among  English-speaking  peo- 
ple, date  their  origin  from  the  same  period  as  the  Puri- 
tans. They  accepted  the  Westminster  confession  with 
modifications  of  the  statements  regarding  baptism  and 
the  sacraments.  In  Virginia  they  were  especially  active 
in  the  movement  led  by  Thomas  Jefferson  against  the 
Establishment.  They  were  represented  in  all  sections 
of  the  Union.  The  Presbyterians  were  especially  strong 
in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  The  type  of  piety,  the 
conception  of  the  Bible,  of  education,  of  freedom  of 
conscience,  of  the  Sabbath,  of  sin,  of  the  relation  of  the 
Church  to  the  State,  which  prevailed  at  the  founding 
of  the  nation,  were  the  outgrowth  of  the  Puritan  move- 
ment of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  fourth  division  of  the  American  Church  has  come 
from  the  impulse  to  spiritual  life  given  by  the  Wesleyan 
revival  in  Great  Britain  during  the  iSth  century. 
America  has  seen  the  greatest  successes  of  jMethodism. 
No  other  denomination  has  made  such  rapid  progress, 
or  shown  more  zeal  for  the  elevation  and  enlightenment 
of  the  masses  of  the  people.  But  this  body  of  Chris- 
tians who  were  to  become  the  leading  division  of 
American  Protestants  were  hardly  a  determining  factor 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nation's  history.    The  teachings 


7 HE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  85 

of  Wesley  produced  a  deep  impression  in  the  colonies, 
but  Methodism  was  not  yet  an  organized  force.  The  first 
meeting-house  of  logs  was  built  in  the  woods  of  Mary- 
land in  1764,'  and  in  1773  the  converts  to  Methodism 
numbered  only  1,160.  Fifteen  years  later,  in  1784,  the 
Methodist  Church  was  episcopally  organized  with 
14,983  members,  four-fifths  of  whom  were  in  IMaryland. 
With  the  founding  of  the  new  republic,  the  INIethodist 
Church  set  out  on  its  great  mission. 

I  have  given  this  brief  summary  of  the  early  ori- 
gin of  the  American  Church  because  this  division  of 
the  people,  among  so  many  of  the  ecclesiastical  organi- 
zations, was. the  determining  factor  at  the  beginning  of 
the  next  period  in  freeing  the  Church  from  union  with 
the  government. 

The  second  characteristic  of  the  colonial  period  was 
the  *' Great  Awakening,"  under  the  leadership  of  Jona- 
than Edwards  and  George  Whitfield,  which  stirred  the 
entire  nation.  Beginning  under  the  preaching  of  Ed- 
wards at  Northampton,  Mass.,  in  1734,  the  revival  spread 
south  with  wonderful  power,  till  it  reached  Georgia, 
where  Whitfield  was  engaged  in  establishing  an  Orphan- 
age, with  funds  gathered  mostly  in  England.  Under  the 
impulse  of  his  marvellous  eloquence  and  devotion,  the 
revival  received  new  vigor.  He  traveled  north,  preach- 
ing and  exhorting  in  all  the  colonies.  This  movement, 
commonly  known  as  the  "  Great  Awakening,"  lasted 
until  the  Revolution,  and  even  longer.  It  is  of  great  im- 
portance to  our  subject,  because  to  it  can  be  traced  one 
of  the  leading  characteristics  of  American  Christianity.*' 
W^ithout  much  regard  to  Calvanistic  or  Arminian 
conception  of  theology,  the  "Great  Awakening" 
agreed  with  John  Wesley  in  teaching  the  possibility 

*  McTyiere's  "  History  of  Methodism,"  p.  253. 

®  McConnell's  Historj'  of  American  Episcopal  Church,  pp.  136- 
146;  Fisher's  Historj'  of  the  Christian  Church,  pp.  524-527. 


86  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

of  the  immediate  conversion  of  sinners,  and  that  a 
Christian  may  know  at  once,  by  an  inner  experience, 
that  he  is  accepted  of  God.  It  may  be  called  the  coun- 
terpart of  the  Wesleyan  revival  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  This  conception  of  conversion  became  char- 
acteristic of  American  Christianity.  It  has  developed 
the  evangelistic  and  missionary  spirit,  which  is  one  of 
the  leading  features  of  the  American  Church,  and  which 
was  a  necessary  preparation  for  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association.  The  Association  in  America  is  an 
evangelistic  agency  which  aims  to  win  young  men  to 
yield  their  lives  to  Jesus  Christ.  The  "Great  Awaken- 
ing" prepared  the  American  Church  to  welcome  and 
support  such  an  enterprise.  It  was  this  great  revival 
which  fortified  the  Church  to  meet  the  tide  of  irreligion 
and  immorality  which  came  with  the  Revolution  and 
the  opening  years  of  the  republic.  The  two  features  of 
the  colonial  period  which  are  of  importance  to  our 
theme  were  the  founding  of  the  different  denomina. 
tions,  and  the  development  of  the  evangelistic  spirit  by 
the  "  Great  Awakening." 

THE   PERIOD   OF   REORGANIZATION,    1776-1815. 

War  has  often  ushered  in  a  decline  in  spiritual  life. 
This  was  sadly  true  in  America.  The  secc^nd  period  of 
American  history  is  marked  by  irreligion  and  infidelity 
almost  as  pronounced  as  that  which  prevailed  in  Eu- 
rope. The  rigid  standard  of  morals  of  the  early  Puri- 
tans degenerated.  Party  strife  was  as  bitter  as  in  the 
declining  days  of  Greece  or  Poland.  Slavery  was  grow- 
ing in  the  South,  "  drunkenness  threatened  to  debauch 
the  nation."  "  In  the  Western  States  whiskey  was  the 
only  currency  used.  In  1814,  there  were  1,400  distil* 
leries  in  the  country,  producing  two  and  a  half  gal- 
lons of  raw  spirits  annually  for  every  person  in  thepop" 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  87 

ulation."  "  The  days  of  Christianity  were  thought  to  be 
numbered,  and  the  "Age  of  Reason"  to  be  at  hand.  Polit- 
ical alliance  and  sympathy  with  France  brought  in  infi- 
delity, and  associated  the  ideas  of  liberty,  equality,  and 
free  institutions  with  unbelief  and  irreligion.  There  was 
danger  that  the  Church,  the  great  conserver  of  self-mast- 
ery in  the  individual,  would  be  paralyzed  at  just  the  mo- 
ment when  the  inauguration  of  free  institutions  demand- 
ed self-poise  and  self-control  in  the  mass  of  the  people. 

The  leading  event  in  the  history  of  the  Church  at 
this  period  was  the  culmination  of  the  movement  which 
had  been  developing  for  a  century  in  favor  of  the  sep- 
aration of  the  civil  and  religious  powers.  This  senti- 
ment had  grown  with  the  growth  of  republican  ideas. 
The  irreligion  of  the  day  allied  itself  to  the  anti-estab- 
lishment party  in  demanding  the  separation  of  the 
Church  from  the  State.  The  anti-establishment  move- 
ment succeeded  in  Virginia  in  1784.  The  leading  fac- 
tor, however,  in  accomplishing  separation,  was  not 
irreligion,  but  the  division  of  the  population  among  so 
many  different  denominations.  "  The  convention  of 
patriots,  who  framed  the  Federal  Constitution  at  Phila- 
delphia in  1787,  were  sacredly  bound  by  every  consid- 
eration of  justice  and  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  various 
States  and  religious  parties  represented  by  them,  to  pro- 
claim liberty  of  religion  and  its  public  exercise.  This 
could  not  be  done  without  a  complete  separation  of 
Church  and  State."  « 

The  separation  of  the  Church  from  the  State  has  de- 
veloped several  features  of  American  religious  life  that 
are  of  great  importance  to  our  subject.  The  indepen- 
dence of  the  Church  involved  self-support,  self-govern- 
ment, and  the  organization  of  the  Church  as  a  body  of 

■  McConnell's  History  of  American  Episcopal  Church,  p.  279. 

«  Elliotts'  Debate,  Vol.  III.,  p.  330,  quoted  by  Philip  SchaflF, 
Evangelical  Alliance  Report  for  1857,  p.  569. 


88  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

believers,  distinct  from  unbelievers.  It  is  impossible  to 
adequately  discuss  here  the  influence  which  these  prin- 
ciples had  upon  American  Christianity  as  it  has  devel- 
oped during  the  succeeding  seventy-five  years.  The 
first  result  during  the  period  of  reorganization  was  the 
awakening  of  laymen  to  activity  in  Christian  work. 
Self-government,  and,  above  all,  self-support,  compelled 
the  Church  to  lean  more  and  more  upon  laymen  in  ful- 
filling her  mission.  The  means  for  the  support  of 
religion,  and  the  advancement  of  all  religious  enter- 
prises were  no  longer  raised  by  taxation,  but  the  Church 
now  rested  on  the  loyalty  of  its  members.  This  sys- 
tem of  voluntary  support  has  been  eminently  successful. 
To  this  training  is  due  the  benevolence  and  generous 
giving  in  America  which  has  often  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  Europeans.  Art  galleries,  universities,  and 
churches  arc  built  and  maintained,  not  by  the  State  or 
royalty,  but  by  private  munificence  or  general  contribu- 
tions. A  variety  of  influences  have  contributed  to  in- 
crease lay  activity  in  Christian  work  during  this  century 
all  over  the  Protestant  world.  This  century  has  been 
characterized  by  the  establishment  of  lay  agencies  for 
extending  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  From  the  German 
Inner  Mission  and  the  myriad  organized  agencies  of 
Great  Britain  to  the  wonderful  lay  societies  of  Amer- 
ica, the  layman  is  a  recognized  religious  power. 
The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  a  purely 
lay  organization,  and  without  this  awakening  of  lay- 
men to  Christian  service  would  have  been  an  im- 
possibility. Laymen  have  become  a  more  important 
factor  in  the  activities  of  the  Church  throughout  Amer- 
ica than  in  any  other  land,  and  this  is  one  of  the  chief 
causes  for  the  greater  success  of  the  American  Young 
]\Ien's  Christian  Association. 

The  separation  of  the  Church  from  the  civil  power 
also  involved  the  organization  of  the  Chu-«h  as  a  body 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  89 

of  believers  distinct  from  unbelievers.  This  was  of  im- 
mense advantage.  It  limited  church  membership  to 
converted  men,  and  enabled  the  Church  to  fulfill  its 
mission  of  bearing  witness  to  what  it  believed  to  be  the 
truth.  The  separation  of  believers  from  unbelievers 
greatly  stimulated  the  evangelistic  spirit,  which  was  the 
most  precious  legacy  from  the  preceding  period.  In 
Europe,  the  basis  of  church  membership  is  not  conver- 
sion, and  a  public  profession  of  faith  in  Christ  but  birth 
and  baptism  under  a  Christian  government.  In  Amer- 
ica the  conditions  of  fellowship  are  baptism  and  a  pub- 
lic, profession  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  This  separation 
of  the  converted  from  the  unconverted  has  proven  a 
constant  reminder  to  the  Church  of  its  evangelistic 
mission.  It  has  confirmed  the  evangelistic  character  of 
American  Christianity. 

The  second  characteristic  of  this  period  ( 1776-1815) 
was  the  necessar}'  organization  of  the  churches  on  the 
basis  of  the  new  relation  to  the  government.  The  Pres- 
byterians and  Baptists  had  never  been  connected  with  the 
State,  and  were  already  organized  and  ready  to  push  for- 
ward and  occupy  the  field  as  population  moved  westward. 
This  in  a  measure  explains  the  rapid  development  of 
these  two  denominations.  The  Methodists  were  swift 
to  follow  in  their  footsteps  and  soon  outstripped  them 
both.  The  Episcopalians  and  the  Congregationalists 
were  slow  to  accept  the  new  situation,  and  thus  lost  this 
first  opportunity  for  rapid  advancement.  The  Episco- 
pal Church  was  the  first  to  organize,  but  it  was  deprived 
of  its  resources  by  disestablishment,  and  had  to 
face  the  hostility  of  the  supposed  sympathy  of  its 
clergy  with  the  Tory  party.  The  Congregationalists, 
while  popular  from  their  loyal  support  of  the  patriot 
cause,  and  their  influence  in  moulding  the  new  na- 
tion, were  hardly  organized  at  all,  and  were  slow  to  ad- 
vance as  an  organization  into  the  growing  West,  while 


90  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

they  gave  the  most  liberally  of  all  of  men  and  money. 
As  a  church,  they  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  had  a  na- 
tional organization  previous  to  the  calling  of  the  Na- 
tional Council  of  1865. 

The  third  characteristic  of  this  period,  which  has 
prevailed  during  all  the  succeeding  history  of  the  na- 
tion, is  the  systematic  efforts  of  the  reorganized 
churches  to  establish  themselves  among  the  population 
which  moved  westward.  This  movement  at  first  fos- 
tered denominational  rivalry,  but  it  did  much  to  stimu- 
late evangelistic  zeal.  It  prevented  the  localizing  of 
denominations,  as  had  been  done  in  the  colonial  period, 
and  so  in  the  end  promoted  denominational  fellowship 
and  intercourse.  There  is  no  section  of  America,  ex- 
cept New  England,  where  the  Congregationalists  still 
predominate,  where  any  one  denomination  so  outnum- 
bers the  others  as  to  justify  pretentions  to  superiority. 
Tolerance  was  a  natural  development  of  the  separation 
of  the  Church  from  the  State.  The  Church  emerged 
from  the  second  period  of  40  years  fully  organized,  un- 
der the  new  condition  of  freedom  from  government 
control,  able  to  support  itself,  a  self-governed  body  of 
believers,  and  a  witness  for  Christ  in  the  world.  The 
Church  had  two  marked  characteristics  which  are  es- 
pecially important  to  our  theme.  The  first  was  a  vig- 
orous evangelistic  spirit,  the  outgrowth  of  the  "  Great 
Awakening,"  strongly  intensified  by  the  organizing  of 
congregations  of  believers  as  distinct  from  the  uncon- 
verted, and  by  the  missionary  effort  to  evangelize  the 
West.  The  second  was  the  awakened  interest  of  the 
laity,  and  their  increased  prominence  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Church.  The  American  Church  in  18 15  was  a 
growing  power  in  the  midst  of  a  period  of  irreligion 
which  prevailed  widely  over  war-stricken  Protestantism, 
and  in  the  face  of  the  serious  problems  of  slavery  and  a 
rapidly  developing  nation. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  91 

THE   PERIOD   OF   RAPID   EXTENSION. 

The  period  from  1815  to  1851  in  the  United  State.i 
was  one  of  tremendous  religious  activity.  The  Church 
arose  in  its  might  to  make  the  growing  nation  Chris- 
tian, and  to  perpetuate  the  Puritan  and  Wesleyan  con- 
ception of  Christianity.  As  population  moved  west- 
ward and  occupied  the  vast  domain  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  the  Church  and  school  were  founded  in  every 
settlement.  The  powerful  stimulus  to  business  en- 
terprise, aroused  by  the  appropriating  of  a  new  country, 
quickened  also  religious  activity.  The  rapidly  ac- 
cumulated wealth  of  Christian  farmers,  merchants,  and 
manufacturers  flowed  into  the  coffers  of  the  Church  in 
a  way  that  satisfied  everyone  of  the  wisdom  of  the  sys- 
tem of  voluntary  support.  Scores  of  colleges  and  theo- 
logical seminaries  were  established  in  both  the  old  and 
new  States.  Church  buildings  were  erected  in  large 
numbers  and  of  more  pretentious  and  beautiful  struc- 
ture. This  period  of  expansion  is  seen  in  all  of  the 
denominations.  Numbers  were  added  to  church  mem- 
bership which  year  by  year  has  enrolled  a  greater  pro- 
portion of  the  total  population.  The  great  external 
characteristics  of  the  third  period  are  : 

The  march  of  the  Church  westward  with  the  pioneer 
population. 

The  great  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  communi- 
cants, ministers,  church  buildings,  church  organiza- 
tions, and  financial  resources. 

The  entrance  of  Roman  Catholicism  on  a  large  scale 
on  the  wave  of  the  new  European  and  Irish  immigra- 
tion. 

The  division  of  the  denominations  which  had  large 
numbers  of  communicants  in  both  the  North  and  the 
South  into  separate  bodies  on  account  of  slavery. 

The  feature  of  this  period  of  chief  interest  to  our 


92  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

subject  was  the  formation  of  the  great  lay  societies  of 
the  Church.  The  different  denominations  now  began 
to  establish,  or  to  render  really  vigorous,  both  their 
own  denominational  boards  and  interdenominational 
organizations. 

As  early  as  1801,  the  Congregationalists  and  Presby- 
terians entered  into  a  "  plan  of  union  "  for  the  planting 
of  churches  in  western  New  York  and  Ohio.  This  de- 
veloped into  the  Home  Missionary  Societies  of  the  two 
denominations  in  1826.  Each  of  the  large  denomina- 
tions soon  founded  agencies  for  extending  their  sys- 
tems into  the  rapidly  growing  West.  In  1850,  there 
were  ten  Home  Missionary  Societies  in  the  United 
States,  which  received  annual  contributions  to  the 
amount  of  $433,090,  and  which  supported  2,675  mis- 
sionaries in  newly-settled  communities. 

The  foreign  missionary  movement  began  toward  the 
close  of  the  previous  period  by  the  organization  of  the 
A-merican  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
in  1810.  This  was  supported  at  first  by  several  denom- 
inations, but  gradually  came  to  be  the  agent  of  the 
Congregationalists.  It  rapidly  became  the  policy  for 
each  denomination  to  have  its  own  Foreign  Missionary 
Society.  In  1850,  there  were  14  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
cieties in  the  United  States,  receiving  annually  $666,360. 
In  addition  to  these  24  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary 
Societies,  there  were  a  number  of  other  denominational 
agencies  for  the  education  of  young  men  for  the  minis- 
try, and  for  founding  Sunday  Schools. 

The  attempt  to  inaugurate  Home  and  Foreign  Mis- 
sion work  on  an  interdenominational  basis,  made  in 
1801  and  1810,  failed,  partly  on  account  of  the  nature 
of  the  enterprises  and  partly  on  account  of  jealousy 
between  denominations.  But  with  the  beginning  of 
the  third  period,  the  willingness  of  Christians  of  differ- 
ent denominations  to  unite  in  carryins:  on  work  of  a 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  93 

general  character  began  to  increase.  In  1816,  the 
American  Bible  Society  was  established  to  circulate  the 
Bible  without  comment,  both  at  home  and  in  foreign 
lands.  This  society  received  hearty  support  from 
Christians  of  all  creeds.  In  34  years  it  had  distributed 
nearly  seven  million  copies  of  the  Bible  or  New  Testa- 
ments.    In  1850,  its  annual  income  was  $284,000. 

The  American  Tract  Society,  for  the  circulation  of 
Christian  literature,  was  founded  on  a  similar  basis  in 
1824,  ^^^^  ^t  the  end  of  26  years  was  receiving  $308,000 
annually  for  the  distribution  of  Christian  literature. 
One  of  the  greatest  of  these  agencies  was  the  American 
Sunday  School  Union  in  connection  wnth  the  various 
churches  throughout  the  nation.  This  society  marvel- 
lously stimulated  lay  activity.  Its  income  in  1850  was 
$259,900.  In  1850  these  three  great  interdenominational 
agencies,  with  several  others  for  similar  purposes, 
according  to  the  report  made  to  the  Conference  of  the 
Evangelical  Alliance  held  at  London  in  1851,  were 
receiving  over  $850,000  annually  in  voluntary  contribu- 
tions from  Christians  of  all  evangelical  churches.  In 
addition  to  forming  these  societies.  Christians  began  to 
unite  in  a  great  variety  of  benevolent  enterprises.  Anti- 
slavery  and  colonization  societies,  temperance  organiza- 
tions, and  union  evangelistic  service  were  powerful 
influences  in  drawing  Christians  together.  In  1846, 
with  evangelical  believers  of  all  lands,  the  American 
Church  united  in  forming  the  Evangelical  Alliance, 
which  had  for  its  object  the  establishment  of  a  bond  of 
union  between  Protestants  of  every  nation  and  every 
tongue. 

The  rapid  development  of  the  Sunday  School,  which 
rallied  the  young  people  under  the  instruction  of  Chris- 
tian laymen,  did  much  to  familiarize  laymen  w-ith 
methods  of  Christian  work,  and  with  the  value  of  organ- 
ized eflfort.     In  1851.  there  were  '*  2,000.000  of  children. 


94  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

youths  and  adults  in  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the  United 
States,  taught  by  more  than  200,000  teachers,  among 
whom  were  members  of  Congress  and  of  State  Legisla- 
ture, judges,  laymen,  mayors  of  cities,  and  other  magis- 
trates." ^  The  Methodist  Church,  by  its  system  of  "local 
preachers,"  did  much  to  promote  lay  preaching,  while  the 
development  of  the  prayer  meeting  familiarized  the 
whole  Church  with  Christian  work  by  laymen.  This 
organizing  of  the  energy  of  the  lay  element  of  the 
Church  permeated  American  life  with  vital  Christianity. 

The  separation  of  Church  and  State,  the  decadence 
of  doctrinal  disputes,  the  absorption  in  practical  effort 
had  wrought  mightily  to  weld  American  Christianity 
into  one  homogeneous  whole,  which  all  the  rivalry  for 
supremacy,  the  clashing  of  interests  in  new  settlements, 
the  bitterness  over  slavery,  and  the  devotion  to  tradi- 
tional watch-words  handed  down  from  European  strug- 
gles of  former  centuries,  could  not  stifle.  A  breadth  of 
view  and  warmth  of  heart  began  to  permeate  American 
Church  life.  On  the  broad  platform  of  the  Bible  and 
Tract  Societies,  the  Sunday  School  Union,  and  a  multi- 
tude of  benevolent  organizations,  American  Christians 
met  side  by  side.  Union  became  popular  ;  ministers  of 
different  denominations  exchanged  pulpits,  and  congre- 
gations of  different  churches  united  in  evangelistic  ser- 
vices. The  revival  spirit,  which,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Charles  Finney,  awoke  to  new  life,  did  much  to 
draw  the  churches  into  harmonious  relations. 

With  the  increased  activity  of  laymen,  the  desire  for 
unity  grew  stronger,  year  by  year,  and  while 
party  differences  still  prevailed,  often  bitterly,  the 
Evangelical  Churches  of  America  in  1851  looked  upon 
each  other  as  standing  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  a  com- 
mon cause.  At  the  close  of  the  third  period  of  Ameri- 
can   Christianity,    when    the   Young    Men's    Christian 

*  Report  Evangelical  Alliance  for  185 1,  p  610. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  95 

Association  was  about  to  begin  its  role  in  America,  the 
religious  character  and  institutions  of  the  new  nation 
had  become  clearly  defined,  and  the  general  direction 
of  religious  effort  determined. 

The  religious  forces  were  organized  into  the  denomi- 
nations already  mentioned.  Their  numerical  strength 
may  be  seen  in  the  following  table  : 


MINISTERS. 

CONGREGA- 
TIONS. 

COMMUNICANTS. 

1800 

1850 

1800 

1850 

1800 

1850 

Conereeationalists 

1,687 
4,578 
8,018 
6,000 

1,504 
1,827 

1,971 
5,672 
13,455 
30,000 
1,550 
5,356 

197,196 

490,259 

948,867 

1,250,000 

73,000 

333,000 

Presbyterians 

300 

500 
1,150 

40,000 
65,000 
40,000 
16,000 

Baptists 

Methodists 

Episcopalians 

260 

320 

German  Churches 

Evangelical ; 

Other  Denominations.... 

300 

Totals 

23-514 

^8  101                     "!  '>n:>  T>9 

The  two  leading  groups  are  (i)  the  Methodist  denomi- 
nation, which  was  distributed  over  the  whole  nation  in 
some  30,000  different  congregations,  enrolling  1,250,000 
communicants  and  ministered  unto  by  9,000  lay 
preachers,  in  addition  to  6,000  ordained  ministers ;  (2) 
the  Puritan  and  Baptist  group,  which  sprang  from  the 
non-conformist  movement  in  England  in  the  17th 
century,  represented  by  the  Congregationalists,  Presby- 
ierians  and  Baptists.  This  second  group  enrolled  some 
20,600  churches,  under  the  supervision  of  14,200  pastors, 
with  some  1,640,000  members. 

In  1850,  in  a  population  of  23,225,000  people,  Ameri- 
can Evangelical  Christianity  presented  the  picture  of  a 
group  of  voluntary",  self-governing  ecclesiastical  organi- 


96  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

zations,  which  had  rallied  some  3,300,000  commimicantg 
into  58,000  different  congregations,  scattered  broadcast 
over  the  new  Republic  and  fostered  by  the  ministrations 
of  some  23,000  preachers  of  the  Gospel.  Some  indica- 
tion of  the  result  of  self-support  may  be  gathered  from 
the  fact  that  in  1850  the  sum  of  $7,700,000  was  voluntarily 
contributed  for  the  support  of  these  churches,  $3,000,000 
additional  for  church  building,  and  a  sum  of  $2,150,000 
for  the  support  of  the  various  denominational  and  inter- 
denominational societies  already  mentioned.  Resting 
on  this  ecclesiastical  foundation,  laid  during  the  two 
and  a  half  centuries  of  its  history,  American  Christianity 
had  developed  four  characteristics,  which  were  a  neces- 
sary preparation  for  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion : 

1.  Evangelistic  zeal  which  sought  to  win  each  indi- 
vidual to  personal  alliance  to  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  Lay  activity,  by  means  of  which  laymen  had  be- 
come a  great  factor  in  the  direct  work  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  and  in  directing  the  agencies  of  the  Church. 

3.  A  faculty  for  organization,  which  had  created  not 
only  the  great  national  societies,  but  reached  also  to  the 
details  in  the  life  of  the  local  churches. 

4.  An  increasing  spirit  of  harmony  between  denomi- 
nations, which  manifested  itself  in  fellowship  and  in 
union  for  specific  objects. 

Here  were  the  forces  to  give  the  impetus  to  a  new 
movement.  Without  spiritual  power,  without  practical 
organizing  ability,  without  a  willingness  among  Chris- 
tians of  different  creeds  to  unite  in  practical  effort,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  could  not  have  been 
established.  Dr.  Charles  Hase,  of  Jena,  writing  at  the 
close  of  this  period  (1853),  said:  "The  Puritan  and 
Methodist  elements  have  been  especially  attracted  to 
America  and  have  become  prominent  in  the  national 
character.     The  zeal  engendered  by  an  earnest  Chris- 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  &r 

tianity  thrown  into  powerful  conflict  with  the  world  has 
led  its  friends  to  an  intense  use  of  ordinary  and  extraor- 
dinary means  for  the  conversion  of  men,  and  the 
religious  revivals,  which  have  sometimes  been  witnessed 
in  other  lands,  have  here  become  frequent."  ^** 

Skc.  15. — Thp:  Industrial  Situation. 

We  have  seen  the  development  of  the  religious  forces 
in  the  United  States,  which  were  ready  to  establish  and 
maintain  any  institution  needed  to  advance  the  cause  of 
the  Gospel.  We  turn  now  to  look  at  the  actual  condi- 
tions surrounding  the  life  of  young  men,  which 
have  made  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in 
America  necessary.  Tlie  occasion  is  the  same  as  in 
England :  the  growth  of  cities.  We  have  already 
alluded  to  the  decadence  of  morality  which  followed 
the  Revolutionary  War.  The  breaking  up  of  the  old 
relation  to '  England,  the  expansion  to  the  new  West, 
the  intoxication  of  founding  a  new  government,  and 
the  rapid  growth  of  wealth  disturbed  the  self-controlled 
movement  of  society.  The  more  settled  East  never 
really  yielded  to  laxity  of  morals.  But  in  the  West, 
while  government  and  order  were  being  established, 
gambling,  drunkenness,  licentiousness,  robbery  and 
sometimes  murder  threatened  to  overturn  the  new  States 
before  they  could  be  formed.  The  steamboats  which 
plied  the  great  lakes,  the  Mississippi  River  and  the 
Ohio,  were  the  haunts  of  gamblers  and  thieves,  who, 
while  less  violent  to  the  person,  were  as  ruthless  as 
the  highwayman  in  the  days  of  Robin  Hood. 

Slavery  in  the  South,  Indian  warfare,  and  the  hardly 
less  demoralizing  Indian  trading  in  the  North,  and,  with 
it  all,  the  isolation  of  pioneer  life,  stifled  the  relig- 
ious aspiration  of  the  people.     Young  men,  then,  as  to- 

10  "  History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  Ch.  Hase,  translated  by 
C.  E.  Blumenthal,  p.  601,  New  York,  1886. 


^8  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

day,  were  the  adventurous  leaders  in  the  march  west- 
ward, and  faced  all  the  peril  to  their  moral  and  higher 
life  which  these  rude  surroundings  entailed.  This  ad- 
vance westward,  headed  by  young  men,  has  continued 
through  all  the  subsequent  history  of  the  United  States, 
until  the  Rocky  Mountains  have  been  crossed,  the 
Pacific  coast  settled,  and  the  East  and  West  connected 
with  lines  of  railway.  This  filling  of  the  West  with 
the  young,  leaving  the  older  portion  of  the  population 
in  the  East,  necessarily  forced  young  men  to  the  front 
and  into  prominent  business,  political  and  social  posi- 
tions. It  led  society  to  trust  important  enterprises  to 
young  men,  and  in  a  measure  accounts  for  that  readi- 
ness to  lead,  and  that  courage  in  the  face  of  responsi- 
bility often  seen  in  young  men  in  America. 

While  in  Massachusetts  and  some  of  the  southern 
States  women  outnumber  men,  the  West  has  always  had 
a  large  majority  of  men.  In  the  lumber  regions  of 
northern  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  it  was  estimated 
that  in  1887  there  were  80,000  more  men  than  women, 
most  of  whom  were  young  and  unmarried,  exposed  to 
all  the  demoralizing  influences  of  camp  and  frontier 
life.  The  vital  statistics  of  Wyoming,  Idaho,  Montana 
and  Colorado  show  the  same  great  preponderance  of 
males.  Over  60  per  cent,  of  the  immigrants  from 
Europe  to  America  are  males,  and  the  large  proportion 
of  these  are  young  men.  ^  ^  The  census  for  1890  showed 
377,000  married  men  in  America  whose  families  were 
still  in  Europe. 

The  first  pioneer  march  westward  was  rapidly  followed 
by  an  agricultural  period,  in  which  the  forests  were 
felled  and  the  prairies  brought  under  cultivation.  In 
an  incredibly  short  time,  the  whole  region,  from  the 
Allegheny    Mountains   to   the    Mississippi,    assumed  a 

^  1  See  article  on  "  The  Census  of  Sex,  Marriage  and  Divorce,"  in 
"  Forum  "  for  June,  1884,  by  C.  D.  Wright. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  99 

settled  aspect.  The  canal  system  was  extended  to  Ohio 
in  1825.  In  the  year  1829,  the  railroad  was  introduced, 
and  the  industrial  revolution,  which  began  in  England 
with  the  invention  of  the  steam  engine,  in  1793,  com- 
menced in  the  United  States.  All  the  internal  condi- 
tions of  the  United  States  were  completely  altered  by 
the  railroad  and  the  use  of  coal  in  the  manufacture  of 
iron  introduced  in  1837.  The  period  1830  to  1840  marks 
the  entrance  of  modern  American  conditions.  At  its 
beginning,  the  country  was  an  overgrown  type  of 
colonial  life  ;  at  its  end,  American  life  had  been  shifted 
to  entirely  new  lines,  which  it  has  since  followed.^ 
The  Agricultural  Period,  which  closed  with  1830,  has  been 
followed  by  an  industrial  era,  in  which  the  cities 
have  grown  to  contain  half  the  wealth  and  18,000,000 
people  out  of  a  population  of  62,000,000  (1890). 

It  is  a  striking  sociological  fact  that  although  the 
density  of  population  in  the  United  States  is  only  21  to 
the  square  mile  (1890),  while  in  France  it  is  187  ;  in 
Germany,  221  ;  in  England,  498,  still  the  movement 
from  the  country  to  the  city  has  become  as  pronounced 
in  America  as  in  Europe.  The  millions  of  acres  of 
cheap  public  lands,  the  homestead  privileges,  the  fact 
that  only  one-sixth  of  the  land  is  under  cultivation,  did 
not  prevent,  between  1880  and  1890,  the  stagnation  or 
decline  of  the  rural  population  in  over  10,000  out  of  the 
25,700  townships  in  the  United  States.  ^ 

In  1834,  McCormick,  by  the  invention  of  the  reaper, 
began  the  long  list  of  agricultural  inventions  which 
have  made  it  possible  for  an  ever-diminishing  propor- 
tion of  agricultural  laborers  to  feed  the  cities  of  the 
world.  These  inventions  have  stimulated  the  concen- 
tration of  vast  sections  of  American  farm  land  under 
single  managements,  until  "  one  farmer,  like  Dr.  Glyn, 

1  Britannica  "History  of  the  United  States." 

J  "  New  Era,"  Josiah  Strong,  p.  167. 


100         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

of  California,  or  Mr.  Dalrymple,  of  Dakota,  with  a  field 
of  wheat  covering  a  hnndred  square  miles,  can  raise  as 
much  grain  with  400  farm  servants  as  5,ck)o  peasant 
proprietors  in  France  can  by  old  methods."  ^ 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  enter  into  a  detailed  discus- 
sion of  the  growth  of  American  cities!*  The  facts 
to  be  observed  are  that  the  same  movement  of  popu- 
lation from  the  country  to  the  city,  found  in  Europe, 
obtains  in  America  even  to  an  accelerated  degree,  that 
this  movement  was  pronounced  in  1851,  and  that  it  was 
the  occasion  for  establishing  the  American  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association. 

In  1790,  Philadelphia  had  42,000  people;  New  York, 
33,000;  Boston,  18,000,  and  Baltimore,  13,000.  By  1830, 
while  the  whole  population  had  increased  ^  less 
than  fourfold,  the  city  population  increased  13-fold 
and  contained  6.3  per  cent,  of  the  total  population. 
By  1850,  the  proportion  of  the  population  in  cities 
was  already  12^  per  cent,  out  of  a  total  of  23,- 
200,000  people.  The  increasing  power  of  the  city 
is  seen  from  the  place  of  manufacture  in  the  nation. 
There  were  already  120,855  manufacturing  establish- 
ments, employing  944,100  persons.  The  manufactured 
product  was  estimated  at  $1,013,000,000,  as  compared 
with  a  total  agricultural  product  of  $1,600,000,000.  ^ 
The  current  of  population  was  already  flowing  from  the 
country  to  the  city  in  1851. 

The  first  characteristic  of  American  cities  to  be 
noticed  is  their  abnormally  large  proportion  of  young 
men. ''     Young  men   form  an  undue  proportion  of  the 

*  Loomis'  "Modern  Cities,"  p.  51. 

*  See  Josiah  Strong's  "  Our  Countrj',"  Revised  Edition,  and 
"  The  New  Era ;  "  Samuel  Loomis'  "  Modern  Cities." 

^  "  Our  Country,"  p.  179. 

*  Report  of  Evangelical  Alliance,  1855,  p.  77. 
'  See  Sec.  7,  on  British  Cities. 


^%^2.^^^^  dfru-^^^l^ 


/^s-^ 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  101 

army  which  marches  annually  from  the  country  and 
village  to  the  city.  Cleveland,  out  of  a  population 
of  149,000  males  (1892),  had  60,000  young  men 
between  the  ages  of  15  and  36  years, — 20  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  population.  The  general  average  for 
the  population  of  the  entire  country  is  14  per  cent. 
(1890  Census).  An  examination  of  the  reports  made  by 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  in  a  large  num- 
ber of  American  cities,  varying  from  8,000  to  1,800,000 
inhabitants,  reveals  two  interesting  and  significant 
sociological  laws  regarding  American  young  men:  i. 
A  decided  tendency  on  the  part  of  young  men  to  seek 
a  livelihood  in  the  city.  2.  That  the  proportion  of  young 
men  between  the  ages  of  15  and  35  tends  to  vary  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  the  city.  The  more  population  is 
concentrated,  still  greater  is  the  concentration  of  young 
men.*  From  18  to  20  per  cent,  of  the  population  of 
American  cities  are  young  men. 

The  second  characteristic  is  the  homeless  condition  of 
young  men  in  American  cities.  City  young  men  may  be 
divided  into  three  classes :  foreign  young  men,  strangers, 
and  young  men  with  homes,  either  of  their  own,  or 
their  parents.  In  American  cities,  the  foreign  element 
is  very  large.  Immigration  from  Europe,  of  a  very 
different  character  from  that  which  had  given  a  Puritan 
cast  to  the  free  institutions  of  the  republic,  began  to 
pour  with  increasing  volume  into  America.  In  1820,  it 
was  about  12,000  annually.  But  soon  the  famine- 
stricken  inhabitants  of  Ireland,  and  the  peasants  from 
Germany,  Austria  and  Italy  began  to  invade  America. 
Immigration  reached  in  1850  as  many  as  315,000  immi- 
grants in  a  single  year.  This  current,  interrupted  to 
some  extent  by  the  Civil  War,  has  brought  a  vast 
multitude  of  newcomers  to  America.  Between  1880 
and   1891,   5,240,000  immigrants  came   to   make  their 

*  See  "  Dying  at  the  Tops,"  Dr.  J.  W.  Clokey,  p.  19. 


102  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

homes  in  the  United  States.  The  cities  have  proved 
especially  attractive  to  immigrants  from  Europe.  The 
percentage  of  foreign-born  inhabitants  in  the  fifty  lead- 
ing American  cities  was  in  1880  eighteen  times  as  great 
as  the  percentage  of  foreign-born  persons  in  London. 
While  less  than  one-third  of  Americans  are  foreign  born, 
or  children  of  parents  born  in  other  lands,  62  per  cent, 
of  the  population  of  Cincinnati  was  foreign,  in  this 
sense ;  83  per  cent,  of  Cleveland ;  63  per  cent,  of 
Boston ;  80  per  cent,  of  New  York,  and  90  per  cent,  of 
Chicago.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  a  large  proportion 
of  the  immigrants  are  young  men  who  have  left  their 
fatherland  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  the  New  World. 
The  cities  of  America  have  proved  especially  attractive 
to  these  young  men.  Fully  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  yomig 
men  in  American  cities  are  foreign  by  birth  or  parent- 
age. This  class  of  young  men  are  open  to  especial 
temptat\on.  Old  customs,  church  relations  and  ^tradi- 
tional ideas  of  conduct  have  lessened  their  hold  before 
these  young  men  have  had  time  to  adjust  themselves  to 
their  surroundings.  This  has  been  especially  true  of 
members  of  the  Roman  Church,  thousands  of  whom 
have  drifted  ofif  into  indifference  and  unbelief  This 
half  of  the  city  young  men  of  America  are  especially 
impervious  to  the  American  agencies  for  preaching  the 
Gospel,  and  open  to  the  swarming  temptations  of  the 
city.  Thousands  of  these  foreign  young  men  have  no 
home  ties  and  belong  also  to  the  second  class  of  young 
men  who  may  be  called  the  stranger  portion  of  the  city 
population.  The  tendency  already  mentioned  of  popu- 
lation to  move  from  the  rural  districts  to  the  city,  and 
the  facility  with  which  Americans  change  residence 
from  one  city  to  another,  gives  a  colonist  character  to 
the  city  population.  The  resident  population  of  London 
which  is  London-born  is  63  per  cent,  of  the  whole, 
while   Cleveland,  which  in   1890  had  261,000  people. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  103 

twenty  years  previous  had  a  population  of  only  72,000. 
It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  percentage  of  city  young 
men  who  are  living  away  from  home,  but  it  is  very 
large.  One  incident  in  New  York  is  significant.^  There, 
young  men  who  have  fallen  below  the  plane  of  self- 
respect  live  in  the  "  Cheap  Lodging  Houses,"  where 
a  wretched  bed  in  a  crowded  room  may  be  had  for 
a  small  fee.  "  Nearly  all  of  these  lodgers  are  young 
men."  Inspector  Byrnes,  of  the  New  York  police 
force,  says :  "  The  cheap  lodging  houses  have  caused 
more  destitution,  more  beggary  and  more  crime  than 
any  other  agency  I  know  of."^"  Mr.  Riis,  from  the 
reports  given  by  the  police  authorities,  estimates  that 
some  14,000  young  men  in  New  York  live  in  these 
"  Cheap  Lodging  Houses."  These  are  only  the  young 
men  whose  incomes  are  insufficient  to  secure  more  re- 
spectable lodgings,  and  they  form  but  a  small  percent- 
age of  the  young  men  who  are  strangers  in  New  York 
City.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  young  men  m 
American  cities  are  living  away  from  home  influences^ 
in  boarding  houses  and  lodgings. 

The  third  class  of  young  men  in  American  cities  are 
those  who  live  wdth  their  parents,  or  in  homes  of  their 
own.  Home,  Church  and  American  traditions  have  a 
much  better  opportunity  to  exert  a  powerful  elevating 
influence  upon  this  class  of  young  men.  They  respond 
to  this  influence,  and  are  among  the  most  valuable  of 
American  citizens.  But  this  class  of  young  men  are 
under  an  increasing  volume  of  evil  influences.  The 
simplicity  of  colonial  and  country  life  is  gone.  The 
young  man  of  the  city  is  in  the  whirl  of  temptation, 
the  fierce  struggle  for  place  and  the  feverish  thirst  for 
pleasure.     Whether  the  young  man  of  the  city  resides 

»  Riis'  "  How  the  Other  Half  Lives,"  chapter  "  The  Cheap  Lodg- 
ing House." 

10  "How  the  Other  Half  Lives,"  Riis,  p.  82. 


104         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

with  his  parents,  or  be  a  stranger  from  a  foreign  land, 
or  from  the  country,  the  influence  of  home  over  him  i? 
greatly  diminished.  The  young  men  of  American  citie? 
are  largely  a  homeless  class. 

Not  only  has  the  home  lost  much  of  its  hold,  but  the 
Evangelical  Church  has  no  real  grip  upon  the  majority 
of  the  young  men  of  American  cities. 

Scarcely  35  per  cent,  of  the  communicants  of  Ameri- 
can Protestant  Churches  are  men ;  women  form  the 
greater  proportion  of  nearly  every  Protestant  commun- 
ion and  congregation.  The  Congregational  Churches  of 
Cleveland  enroll  2,200  women  and  only  1,200  men.^ 
The  proportion  of  the  communicants  and  worshipers 
in  the  majority  of  churches  who  are  young  men  is 
very  small.  In  a  town  of  14,000  people  in  Ohio,  in 
1890,  an  examination  of  the  register  of  the  eleven 
Protestant  Churches  showed  only  297  young  men  as 
members, — about  13  per  cent,  of  the  young  men  of  that 
town.  Similar  tests  have  been  made  in  six  Ohio  towns, 
with  a  similar  result.  A  careful  investigation  of  the 
habits  of  the  young  men  of  Cleveland,  made  by  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  in  1892,  shows 
that  out  of  60,000  young  men,  between  the  ages 
of  15  and  36,  in  that  city,  6,212,  about  107^  per  cent, 
were  members  of  Evangelical  Churches.^  Similar 
investigation  has  been  made  by  Associations  in 
widely  separated  sections  of  America.  Whatever 
conclusion  may  be  drawn  as  to  the  moral  character 
of  the  young  men  of  American  cities,  it  is  plain 
that  they  are  largely  withdrawn  from  the  influence 
of  the  Evangelical  Churches. 

One  of  the  chief  reasons  for  this  estrangement  is  the 
struggle  between  capital  and  labor,  which  involves  a 
large  section  of  city  young  men.     This  struggle  began 

1  Address,  Pres.  W.  G.  Ballautine,  25tli  Report  Ohio  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

2  25th  Report  Cleveland  Y.  M.  C.  A. 


r.'lE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  103 

with  the  growth  of  cities  and  manufacture.  The  first 
city  trade  union  was  formed  in  New  York,  in  1803.* 
There  was  a  strike  among  printers,  in  1821.  The  first 
national  labor  organization  was  formed  in  1850.  By  i860, 
twenty-six  different  trades  were  organized.  The  cities 
of  America,  66  per  cent,  of  whose  population  are  work- 
ing men,  began  to  assume  the  aspect  of  two  organized 
camps,  in  which  capital  and  labor  stood  arrayed 
against  each  other.  Samuel  Loomis  says:  "The 
faith  on  which  the  nation  was  founded,  and  through 
the  strength  of  which  she  has  endured  the  shock 
of  war  and  the  stress  of  stormy  times,  this  faith 
has  almost  no  place  among  the  working  classes."  "  It 
is  doubtful  if  one  in  twenty  of  the  average  congregation 
in  our  English  speaking  Protestant  city  churches  fairly 
belongs  to  this  class."  ^  Fully  60  per  cent,  of  the  young 
men  of  American  cities  belong  to  the  industrial  classes, 
and  share  their  prejudice  against  the  Church  and  its 
agencies.  While  a  large  number  of  the  young  men  of 
American  cities  are  active  workers  in  the  cause  of 
Evangelical  religion,  both  the  home  and  the  Church 
have  lost  their  hold  on  a  majority  of  the  young  men  of 
American  cities. 

The  fourth  characteristic  is  the  concentration  in 
American  cities  of  the  powers  of  evil.  Nowhere  else 
are  young  men  so  surrounded  by  temptation.  The  fact 
is  too  apparent  to  need  discussion.  Low  theatres,  con- 
cert halls,  liquor  saloons,  houses  of  ill-fame,  dives,  fast 
clubs,  and  even  hotels,  boarding  houses  and  the  city 
streets  swarm  with  temptations,  and  are  the  headquar- 
ters for  an  army  of  depraved  men  and  women  who  lie 
in  wait  to  prey  upon  young  men. 

The  city  is  without  parallel  the  great  center  of 
America's  religion,  piety  and  benevolence.     The  power, 

'  Labor  Movement  in  America,  Ely,  p.  38. 

*  Modern  Cities,  p.  82. 


106         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

leadership,  wealth  and  much  of  the  aggressive  zeal  of 
the  Church  is  in  the  city,  but  the  city  is  also  the  head- 
quarters of  vice  and  evil,  and  it  may  well  be  doubted, 
rapidly  as  the  conserving  forces  of  the  city  have  grown^ 
if  they  bear  as  favorable  a  relation  to  the  powers  of 
evil  as  they  did  in  1830,  when  the  American  Industrial 
Era  began.  This  concentration  of  the  forces  of  evil 
in  American  cities  is  aimed  directly  at  young  men 
who  are  so  largely  removed  from  the  influences  of  both 
home  and  Church. 

The  case  is  complete :  American  life  had  entered 
upon  a  new  stage.  The  Industrial  Era  ushered  in  the 
supremacy  of  the  city.  These  cities  began  to  be 
crowded  with  an  abnormally  large  proportion  of  young 
men,  a  small  minority  of  whom  were  earnest  support- 
ers of  the  Evangelical  faith,  but  the  greater  majority 
of  whom  were  beyond  the  influence  of  home  and  the 
ordinary  agencies  of  the  Church,  exposed  to  new  and 
powerful  temptations.  In  this  emergency  the  evangel- 
istic zeal,  liberality  and  energy  in  the  American  Church, 
which  has  already  been  described,  needed  only  direc- 
tion to  organize  a  mighty  agency  to  save  young  men. 
This  opportunity  came  with  the  founding  of  the  Boston 
Association  on  the  London  model,  in  December,  1851. 

Sec.  16. — Founding  of  the  American  Association, 
December,  1851,  to  June,  1854. 

The  first  period  of  the  development  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  on  the  American  continent 
properly  extends  from  the  founding  of  the  Montreal  and 
Boston  Associations,  in  1851,  to  the  permanent  location 
of  the  American  Committee  in  New  York  in  1866.  This 
period  of  15  years,  in  spite  of  the  movement  towards 
unity,  and  the  establishment  of  a  national  alliance,  in 
contrast  with  later  development  must  be  called  2i  period 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  107 

of  local  effort.  There  was  no  general  consciousness  of 
a  great  national  or  world-wide  movement.  The  four 
leading  events  of  this  period  were  : 

The  founding  of  the  movement  under  the  leadership 
of  Boston  and  Montreal. 

The  establishment  of  the  confederation  under  the 
leadership  of  William  Chauncy  Langdon,  of  Washing- 
ton. 

The  great  revival  of  1857  to  i860,  which,  beginning 
in  New  York,  swept  over  the  whole  country,  and  which, 
while  it  almost  overwhelmed  for  a  number  of  years  the 
oricrinal  definite  idea  of  the  distinctive  mission  of  the 
Association  to  young  men,  and  made  it  in  many  places  a 
general  missionary  agency  to  all  classes,  confirmed  for- 
ever the  evangelistic  character  of  the  movement. 

The  fourth  work  of  this  period  was  the  mission  to 
the  army  and  navy  during  the  great  Civil  War,  one  of 
the  noblest  instances  of  devotion  in  the  annals  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  most  brilliant  page  in  the  early  history 
of  the  Association. 

This  period  of  fifteen  years  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  was  one  of  uncertainty  and  experiment.  The 
mission  of  the  Association  was  ill-defined  in  the  minds 
of  many  of  its  supporters  ;  the  relation  of  the  Associa- 
tions to  each  other  and  to  the  Church  was  undeter- 
mined. It  was  a  period  of  training  of  leaders  and 
discovery  of  methods  of  work,  during  which  the  Amer- 
ican Association  gradually  grew  into  self-consciousness, 
and  in  which  the  Association  tradition  was  being 
formed.  It  was  a  period  during  which  the  spiritual 
power  necessary  for  a  great  undertaking  slowly  devel- 
oped. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  period  did  not  define  definite- 
ly the  aim  of  the  Association  as  a  work  for  young  men 
by  young  men.  It  was  clearly  recognized  as  a  society 
of  young  men,  but  many  of  the  leaders  thought  the 


108         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

efforts  of  the  Association  should  be  directed  to  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  to  all  classes  of  society.  In  the  second 
place,  the  relation  of  the  Association  to  the  Church  was 
not  defined.  There  was  a  strong  tendency  which  ulti- 
mately prevailed  to  limit  the  control  to  evangelical 
Christians,  but  no  definition  of  an  evangelical  church 
was  formulated.  The  Association  had  not  evolved  its 
method  of  work  for  the  fourfold  development  of  young 
men,  spiritually,  intellectually,  socially,  and  physically. 
It  was  as  yet  confined  almost  wholly  to  the  spiritual 
and  intellectual  side  of  its  mission.  The  American 
Associations  did,  however,  do  much  during  this  period 
to  furnish  a  wholesome  social  resort. 

In  this  chapter  we  are  to  discuss  the  work  accom- 
plished in  America  between  December,  1851,  and  Au- 
gust, 1855,  the  date  of  the  Paris  convention.  The  two 
events  of  these  five  years  are  the  founding  of  the  local 
Associations,  and  of  the  Confederation. 

THE    BOSTON   ASSOCIATION. 

In  America,  as  in  Germany  and  Great  Britain,  there 
had  been  many  efforts  to  inaugurate  special  work  for 
young  men.  It  has  not  been  the  purpose  of  this  treatise 
to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  these  movements.  Cotton 
Mather  speaks  of  young  men's  religious  societies  in  the 
early  colonial  days  in  New  England.  Some  of  these 
had  a  continuous  existence  covering  a  long  period,  one 
for  150  years. 

The  Nasmith  movement,  shortly  preceding  the  found- 
ing of  the  Association,  did  much  to  awaken  an  interest 
in  Christian  effort  for  young  men,  and  in  Montreal 
trained  the  men  who  organized  the  first  Association  on 
the  American  continent. 

In  the  United  States,  the  only  society  formed  previous 
to  1851  which  vitally  influenced  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian  Association   was  the    "  Young  Men's  Societv   of 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  109 

Religions  Inquiry,"  of  Cincinnati.  In  1848,  seven  young 
men  in  Cincinnati,  who  were  members  of  the  same 
church,  formed  themselves  into  a  society  "  for  the  pur- 
pose of  cultivating  Christian  intercourse ;  of  assisting 
each  other  in  growth  in  grace  and  knowledge,  and  es- 
pecially of  enlarging  their  acquaintance  with  the  relig- 
ions movements  of  their  own  country  and  of  the  world, 
and  fitting  themselves  for  more  extended  usefulness 
in  the  service  of  the  Divine  Redeemer."  ^  This  society 
was  very  soon  reorganized  on  an  interdenomina- 
tional basis,  and,  in  seeking  an  appropriate  way  "  to 
extend  their  influence "  in  Christian  service,  wrote 
a  letter  to  Dr.  Samuel  Miller,  a  prominent  theologian 
connected  with  Princeton  University.  In  replying, 
Dr.  Miller  said :  "  I  earnestly  advise  that  your  in- 
quiries and  benevolent  efforts  be  especially  directed 
to  the  moral  and  spiritual  benefit  of  children"*  and 
young  people.  He  that  searches  out  a  child  or 
young  person,  and  especially  a  young  man  of  amiable 
and  promising  character,  and  secures  for  him  a  good 
literary  and  religious  education,  may  be  said  to  be  doing 
good  in  the  most  solid  and  permanent  form  possible. 
*  ii:  *  J  believe  there  is  no  branch  of  religious  effort 
more  likely  to  richly  remunerate  the  effort  bestowed 
upon  it  than  searching  out  the  children  of  the  needy 
and  vicious,  providing  for  their  moral  and  religious 
education,  and  teaching  them  to  live  to  God,  to  their 
country,  and  to  their  own  happiness."  This  letter 
shaped  the  activities  of  the  new  society,  which  in  a  few 
years  enrolled  seventy  earnest,  active  young  men,  who 
devoted  much  effort  to  Christian  work.  The  two  ob- 
jects of  their  efforts  were  young  men  and  the  children 
of  the  poor.  In  their  work  for  young  men  they  estab- 
lished nicely  furnished  rooms,  with  a  library',  reading 
room,  and  parlors,  where  semi-monthly  meetings   were 

^  Report  First  American  Convention,  1854,  p.  29. 


no         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

held  of  a  religious  and  social  character.  In  carrying  on 
the  work  for  children,  seven  Sunday  Schools  were 
established  in  the  more  destitute  parts  of  the  city, 
which  were  managed  and  taught  by  members  of  the 
"  Young  Men's  Society."  This  effort  at  Cincinnati  was 
at  first  entirely  local,  but  after  the  introduction  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  this  society  identi- 
fied itself  with  the  Association  cause,  and  with  the  ma- 
turity of  experience  threw  itself  into  the  movement. 
The  influence  of  the  Cincinnati  Association  was  power- 
ful in  forming  the  Confederation,  and  especially  in 
fostering  the  spiritual  zeal  of  the  American  Associations, 
but  not  being  a  movement  directed  solely  toward  young 
men,  this  society  was  one  of  the  chief  influences  in 
diverting  the  American  Associations  from  their  specific 
mission.  In  a  few  years,  however,  the  Cincinnati  As- 
sociation recognized  the  wisdom  of  concentrating  its  ef- 
forts upon  work  exclusively  for  young  men.  It  is  now 
an  organization  of  nearly  2,000  members,  and  has  re- 
cently erected  a  building  of  its  own  at  a  cost  of  $200,000. 

The  real  founding  of  the  Association  in  America  was 
in  i85i,when  the  influence  of  the  London  idea  reached 
simultaneously  Montreal,  in  Canada,  and  Boston,  the 
metropolis  of  New  England.  We  are  especially  con- 
cerned with  the  Boston  movement  because  it  was  from 
Boston  the  Association  has  spread  over  the  American 
continent. 

In  the  winter  of  1849-1850,  a  student  from  Columbia 
University,  New  York,  named  G.  i\I.  Van  Derlip,  visited 
Edinburg  University  for  a  course  of  study.  During  his 
stay  abroad  he  spent  some  time  in  London,  where  he 
became  acquainted  with  the  London  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  He  was  so  much  impressed  with 
the  value  of  this  organization  that  he  prepared  an 
extended  account  of  it,  which  was  sent  to  the  IVatch- 
man  and  Reflector^  of  Boston,  the  organ  of  the   Baptist 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  Ill 

denomination.  This  letter,  written  in  June,  1850,  de- 
scribed so  vividly  the  work  in  London  in  the  seventh 
year  of  its  history,  and  was  such  an  important  link  in 
extending  the  movement  in  America,  that  a  considerable 
extract  must  be  quoted  from  it."  It  was  written  from 
London  as  follows  : 

"  Taking  the  most  direct  course  from  the  general 
post  office  to  the  Bank,  on  the  right-hand  side  of 
Gresham  Street,  a  large  stuccoed  building  will  be 
obser\'ed,  on  the  doors  of  which  is  inscribed,  '  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.'  Ascending  the  stairway, 
we  enter  a  spacious  apartment  some  sixty  by  thirty 
feet.  It  is  elegantly  furnished  with  mahogany  tables, 
sofas  and  lounges.  Here  are  to  be  found  the  principal 
newspapers  of  the  Kingdom,  together  with  copies  of 
journals  from  ever>'  part  of  the  world. 

"  Ascending  another  flight,  we  reach  a  room  supplied 
with  all  the  reviews  and  magazines.  Adjoining  it  is 
the  library  room,  in  which  lectures  are  occasionally 
delivered.  The  library  may  be  called  a  small  one, 
having  less  than  eight  thousand  volumes,  but  size  is  no 
criterion  of  value,  for  a  better  selected  collection  of 
books  —  one  more  completely  adapted  to  the  w^ants  of 
those  using  it  —  can  scarcely  be  conceived  of. 

"In  the  library  room,  on  Sunday  afternoon,  a  large 
class  of  young  men  meet  to  study  the  Word  of  God. 
There  are  other  classes  of  the  same  kind,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Association,  meeting  in  different  parts 
of  the  city.  The  graduates  of  these  classes  make  effi- 
cient Sunday  School  teachers.  On  the  floor  above  the 
library  are  bath  rooms,  class  rooms,  etc.  Instruction  is 
regularly  given  to  classes  in  French,  German,  Latin, 
Greek,  and  Hebrew.  There  is  also  a  class  in  English 
literature  which  meets  weekly  under  the  supervision  of 
Rev.  Charles  Stovel. 

*See"nistory  of  the  Boston  Young  Men's  Christian  Association," 
L.L.D.,  1901,  p.  7. 


112         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIO.^ 

"  There  is  one  peculiarity  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
Association,  and  that  is  the  refreshment  room.  Provis- 
ion is  made  for  the  physical  as  well  as  intellectual  man. 
Between  the  hours  of  5  and  8  P.  M.,  servants  are  in 
attendance,  and  members  are  furnished  with  tea,  coffee, 
chocolate  and  other  refreshments  at  cost  price,  about 
half  the  price  charged  at  restaurants.  Members  can 
now  spend  two  or  three  hours  in  the  reading  room  after 
business  hours  before  going  home. 

"  I  see  I  have  reversed  the  proper  order  by  describing 
the  '  local  habitation '  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  before  speaking  of  the  Association  itself. 
It  is,  comparatively  speaking,  a  new  institution.  Six 
years  ago  it  was  organized.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Binney, 
in  an  address  delivered  at  a  late  meeting  of  the  society, 
said  : 

*' '  There  was  a  young  man  ( George  Williams )  in  a 
certain  house  in  London,  working  away  there,  aye,  and 
working  well ;  a  young  man  of  activity  and  tact  and 
industry  and  talent,  attending  to  his  business,  and  being 
thoroughly  in  his  business  when  he  was  in  it,  and  the 
thought  rose  up  in  his  mind  of  getting  a  few  young 
men,  like-minded,  together,  to  read  the  Scriptures  and 
unite  in  prayer,  and  lo,  this  institution  came  to  be 
evolved  from  that  one  thought.' 

"  Its  religious  character  is  its  peculiar  glory.  There 
are  other  associations  which  accomplish  a  part  of  what 
this  proposes,  but  I  know  of  none  in  which  the  attain- 
ment of  vital  piety  and  manifestation  of  godliness  is 
the  leading  object.  It  is  not  enough  that  a  man  should 
be  religious  in  the  sense  often  understood.  A  man  has 
more  to  do  than  save  himself.  Says  Frederick  Maurice, 
*  The  Kingdom  of  God  begins  within,  but  it  is  to  mani- 
fest itself  without ;  it  is  to  penetrate  the  feelings,  habits, 
thoughts,  words,  acts  of  him  who  is  the  subject  of  it.' 
Believing  these  things,  not  a  few  Christian  young  men 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  113 

of  London  resolved  in  God's  strength  to  accomplish 
these  objects,  viz. : 

"  The  improvement  of  the  spiritnal  and  mental  con- 
dition of  commercial  young  men  by  the  efforts  of  the 
members  of  the  society  in  the  sphere  of  their  daily  call- 
ing, by  devotional  meetings,  Biblical  instruction,  mu- 
tual improvement  classes,  and  the  diffusion  of  Christian 
literature.  Article  8  of  their  constitution  reads,  *  Any 
person  shall  be  eligible  for  membership  who  gives 
decided  evidence  of  his  conversion  to  God.'  Young 
men  of  good  character  may  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the 
library  and  reading  room  on  payment  of  a  small  sum. 
The  first  three  years  of  its  existence  there  was  a  strug- 
gle. The  munificence  of  George  Hitchcock,  Esq.,  kept 
the  society  free  from  debt,  yet  it  was  felt  that  too  little 
was  accomplished. 

*'  In  1848,  the  third  annual  course  of  lectures  was  pub- 
lished, and  in  a  short  time  36,000  copies  were  sold. 
The  attention  of  the  Christian  public  was  at  once  di- 
rected to  the  Association,  and  thousands  of  warm  friends 
enlisted.  All  the  evangelical  clergymen  of  London  are 
its  warm  friends,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  young 
men  of  their  congregations  members.  As  might  have 
been  expected,  a  few  high  churchmen  have  opposed  it 
openly. 

.  "  There  are  district  prayer  meetings  held  regularly  in 
five  different  parts  of  London,  and  numbers  of  young 
men  trace  their  conversion  to  them,  and  bless  God  for 
this  Association.  There  is  scarcely  a  commercial  house 
in  London  without  one  or  more  missionaries  among 
their  clerks.  Young  men  from  the  country  come  up  to 
London,  and  many  are  at  once  led  out  of  temptation. 
Instead  of  snares,  they  find  friends  who  have  provided  a 
delightful  place,  and  a  delightful  way  to  spend  leisure 
hours.  'The  young  stranger  can  say  no  longer,  'No 
man  careth  for  my  soul.'     This  is  best  of  all— G.N. V." 


114  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

This  letter,  though  written  in  June,  1850.  appeared  in 
the  Watchman  and  Reflector  in  October.  185 1,  and  fell 
under  the  eyes  of  a  converted  sea  captain  named  J.  V. 
Sullivan,  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  who,  in  his 
roving  life,  had  realized  intensely  the  temptation  to  which 
young  men  in  the  thronging  streets  of  modern  cities  are 
exposed.  The  desire  of  Captain  Sullivan  was  aroused  to 
have  a  similar  work  done  among  the  young  men  of  Boston 
who  were  being  led  into  lives  of  sin.  Captain  Sullivan 
never  visited  the  Association  in  London,  but  was  so 
impressed  with  this  account  of  its  work  that  he  began  to 
urge  the  formation  of  a  similar  society.^  Through  his 
efforts,  on  December  15th,  185 1,  "thirty-two  men,  repre- 
senting twenty  congregations  of  Boston,  met  in  the  vestry 
of  the  Central  Church  to  consider  the  matter.  "'^^ 

Mr.  Charles  Demond,  afterwards  to  play  so  noble  a 
part  in  the  work  for  the  Union  soldiers,  was  appointed 
Chairman,  and  Henry  S.  Chase,  Secretary.  This  meet- 
ing favored  the  proposed  enterprise,  and  appointed  a 
committee,  of  which  Captain  Sullivan  was  a  member, 
to  prepare  a  plan  of  organization.  The  meeting  then 
adjourned  to  December  226.,  "when  they  assembled  with 
largely  increased  numbers  in  the  Old  South  Chapel,  in 
Spring  Lane,  to  consider  the  proposed  constitution." 

For  years  the  struggle  between  the  Orthodox,  or 
Trinitarians,  as  they  were  called,  and  the  Unitarian  and 
Universalist  party,  had  been  characteristic  of  the  relig- 
ious life  of  Boston.  The  evangelical  or  orthodox,  and 
the  non-evangelical  party,  both  Unitarians  and  Univer- 
salists,  had  learned  to  know  each  other  well,  and  it  was 

'  Captain  Sullivan  in  the  summer  of  1851  began  a  union  effort  for 
the  young  men  of  Boston.  This  led  Mr.  Uaniel  Ford,  one  of  the  editors 
of  the  Watchman  and  Reflector,  to  publish  the  Van  Derlip  letter  which 
he  had  received  a  year  previous. 

'a  Report  Boston  Association,  1853,  A.  M.  -21. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  115 

a  recognized  fact  that  tliey  could  not  work  together  for 
a  common  end.  This  was  a  critical  point  in  the  inaugu- 
rating of  any  religious  enterprise.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  it  was  almost  the  first  question  raised  when  the 
constitution  came  up  for  adoption  before  the  young 
men  assembled  in  the  chapel  of  the  "  Old  South 
Church,"  on  December  22,  1851.  The  non-evangelical 
party  in  the  United  States  was  clearly  defined  and 
easily  recognized.  Here  was  one  advantage,  at  least,  of 
a  free  church  system.  Instead  of  all  parties  being 
identified  with  the  State  Church,  as  in  Germany,  in 
America,  each  party  forms  its  own  communion.  In 
Boston,  at  this  time,  the  non-evangelicals  were  repre- 
sented by  the  Unitarian  and  Universalist  Churches  ;  the 
evangelicals  principally  by  the  Episcopalians,  Baptists, 
Congregationalists  and  Methodists. 

The  question  thus  arose  in  a  very  clear  and  definite 
shape,  should  members  of  all  six  of  these  denomina- 
tions be  admitted,  or  only  members  of  the  evangeli- 
cal churches?  The  question  was  accentuated  by 
the  fact  that  Boston,  of  all  places  in  America,  was 
the  battle-ground  where  the  conflict  between  evan- 
gelical and  non-evangelical  belief  had  been  fought 
out.  The  non-evangelicals  to-day  number  a  mere  hand- 
ful in  the  United  States,  scarcely  2  per  cent,  of 
American  Protestants,  but  in  Boston  and  vicinity  they 
have  some  45,000  members.*  No  one  fully  realized  the 
profound  importance  of  the  step  under  discussion. 
The  matter  was  earnestly  debated.  As  yet  it  was 
purely  an  evangelical  movement ;  should  the  mem- 
bership be  limited  to  members  of  these  churches  ? 
It  was  the  supreme  moment  for  the  American 
movement.  After  much  discussion,  the  constitution 
was  referred  back  to  the  committee,  and  four  young 
men    appointed   to   secure   the  advice  of  the    leading 

*  Carroll,  "  Religious  Forces  in  U.  S" 


116         YOUNG  MEN 'S  CJIRISTIAN  ASSOCIA TION. 

representatives  of  the  four  evangelical  denominations. 
The  meeting  adjourned  to  meet  in  the  same  place, 
the  "Old  South  Church,"  December  29,  1851,  for 
final  decision.  Bishop  Eastburn  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  Dr.  Sharp  of  the  Baptist,  and  the  Bishop  of 
the  Methodist  Church,  were  interviewed  without  con- 
ference with  each  other  for  their  opinions.  The  young 
men  brought  the  opinions  of  these  leading  ministers  to 
the  meeting  held  on  December  29th,  and  it  was  found 
they  were  unanimous  in  favoring  organization  on  an 
evangelical  basis.  The  meeting  was  almost  to  a  man 
of  the  same  opinion,  and  the  following  Constitution  was 
unanimously  adopted : 

PREAMBLE. 

."We,  the  subscribers,  led  by  a  strong  desire  for  the  promotion  of 
evangelical  religion  among  the  young  men  of  this  city,  and  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  concentrated  eflfort,  both  for  our  own  spirit- 
ual welfare  and  that  of  those  from  without,  who  may  be  brought 
under  our  influence,  and  desirous  of  forming  an  Association  in 
which  we  may  together  labor  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  great 
end  proposed,  hereby  agree  to  adopt  for  our  united  government  the 
following 

CONSTITUTION. 

Article  I. 

Title  and  Object. 

The  name  of  this  society  shall  be  the  "  Boston  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,"  and  its  object  the  improvement  of  the 
spiritual  and  mental  condition  of  young  men. 

Article  II. 

Members. 

Section  i.  Active  Members.  Any  j-ouug  man  who  is  a  member 
in  regular  standing  of  an  evangelical  church  may  become  an  active 
•member  of  this  Association  by  the  payment  of  one  dollar  annually. 
Active  members  only  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  and  be  eligible  to 
office. 

-  Section  2.  Associate  Members.  Any  young  man  of  good  mor4 
character  may  become  a  member  of  this  Association  by  the  pa^-menj 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  117 

of  one  dollar  annually,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of 
the  Association,  eligibility  to  office  and  the  right  to  vote  only  ex- 
cepted. 
Section  3.     Related  to  life  members. 

Artici^E  III. 

The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  consist  of  a  President,  four 
Vice-Presidents,  Recording  Secretary,  Corresponding  Secretary, 
Treasurer  and  Librarian,  all  of  whom  shall  be  elected  annually  by 
ballot, 

A  standing  committee,  consisting  of  two  members  from  each 
evangelical  church  in  the  city,  shall  also  be  chosen  at  the  annual 
meeting,  who  shall  appoint  twelve  from  their  own  number  to  con- 
stitute, with  the  officers  elect,  a  Board  of  Managers." 

Then  follow  articles  upon  the  duties  of  managers  and 
officers.     In  the  By-Laws,  Article  IV  reads  : 

"  The  Board  of  Managers  shall  annually  appoint  from  its  own 
number  four  committees,  consisting  of  five  persons,  one  of  whom 
shall  be  a  Vice-President  of  the  Association." 

The  names  of  these  committees  were  as  follows  : 

(i)  "  Committee  on  Library  and  Rooms." 

(2)  "Committee  on  Lectures." 

(3)  A  "  Committee  on  Publication,"  which  published  copies  of  the 
Constitution,  with  a  list  of  officers  of  the  Association,  and  the  local- 
ity of  its  rooms,  and  which  were  forwarded  to  the  pastors  of  each 
evangelical  church  in  Boston. 

(4)  A  "Committee  on  Finance,  to  devise  means  for  obtaining  the 
necessary  funds  for  the  Association." 

By  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Boston  was  organized  on  De- 
cember 29,  1851,  seven  years  and  a  half  after  the  bed- 
room meeting  in  George  Hitchcock's  establishment  in 
far  away  London. 

The  Boston  Association  had  clearly  defined  principles. 
It  was  to  be  a  work  for  young  men. 

Its  aim  was  "  to  improve  them  spiritually  and  men- 
tally." 

Its  controlling  membership  was  evangelical. 

Its  management,  like  the  parent  Association  in  Lon- 


118         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

don,  was  to  be  a  small  board  of  Christian  men  chosen 
by  the  evangelical  members. 

It  recognized  the  value  of  bringing  young  men  under 
good  influences  by  allowing  moral  young  men  to  be- 
come associate  members. 

Next  to  emphasis  upon  the  evangelical  position  the 
greatest  addition  was  the  introduction  of  the  committee 
system,  which  came  to  be  characteristic  of  the  American 
work.  Committeemen  were  appointed  to  carry  out  the 
various  plans  of  the  organization. 

There  is  an  undoubted  advance  in  the  emphasis  upon 
the  value  of  the  Association  as  a  social  resort.  This 
may  be  seen  from  the  address  introducing  the  Constitu- 
tion, which  said  :  "A  young  man  who  is  a  stranger  here 
finds  it  difficult  to  obtain  access  to  Christian  families 
or  in  any  way  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  his  social  na- 
ture, except  in  places  that  are  dangerous  to  his  morals." 
*  *  *  *  *  "  We  intend  to  make  this  a  social  organiza- 
tion of  those  in  whom  the  love  of  Christ  has  produced 
love  to  man.  We  shall  meet  the  young  stranger  as  he 
enters  the  city,  take  him  by  the  hand,  direct  him  to  a 
boarding  house,  introduce  him  to  the  Church  and  Sab- 
bath School,  and  bring  him  to  the  rooms  of  the  As- 
sociation. By  making  his  social  atmosphere  a  Chris- 
tian one,  we  believe  the  allurements  to  evil  will  be 
stripped  of  much  of  their  power." 

The  first  circular  sent  out  in  January,  1852,  expressed 
the  same  hope :  "  The  young  men  of  Boston  belonging 
to  the  four  evangelical  denominations  have  united  them- 
selves for  the  purpose  of  aiding  young  men  who  come 
to  our  city  as  strangers,  by  surrounding  them  with  such 
social  influences  as  will  tend  to  their  moral  and  spiritual 
profit." 

The  idea  of  unity  of  all  evangelical  denominationi 
appears  in  all  the  proceedings  of  the  Boston  Association 
The  address  just  mentioned  closes  with  a  joyful  note. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  119 

"We  have  a  Christian  union,  so  often  longed  for,  in 
actual  and  successful  operation,  concentrating  the 
Christian  influences  of  the  city  and  binding  into  one 
the  various  congregations  of  the  Lord." 

Officers  were  chosen  on  January  5th,  1852,  and  the 
Board  of  Managers  appointed  five  days  later.  **  Two 
months  of  severe  labor  followed.  The  Standing  Com- 
mittee and  the  Board  of  Managers  met  often  and  de- 
voted a  large  portion  of  their  time  to  the  obtaining  of 
funds  and  in  interesting  the  Christian  community  in 
the  cause.  The  funds  needed  to  commence  the  enter- 
prise were  obtained,  spacious  and  convenient  rooms 
were  provided,  fitted  up  in  neat  and  agreeable  style, 
furnished  with  papers  and  periodicals  and  a  foun- 
dation laid  for  a  library."  ^  These  rooms  w^ere  on  the 
corner  of  Washington  and  Sumner  Streets,  and  were 
about  80  by  30  feet  in  size.  Mr.  Francis  L.  Watts, 
a  learned  and  Christian  lawyer,  a  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  v/as  chosen  President  of  the  Associa- 
tion. The  opening  of  the  rooms  attracted  considerable  at- 
tention, over  six  hundred  young  men  being  present.  Dr. 
Lyman  Beecher,  Bishop  Eastburn,  and  other  prominent 
ministers  were  present,  and  made  stirring  addresses. 
The  Governor  of  the  State,  Honorable  George  L.  Briggs, 
and  Honorable  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  were  also  among 
the  guests.  Dr.  Beecher  closed  his  address  wnth  these 
words :  "  I  always  felt  sure  the  millennium  would  come, 
but  never  so  sure  of  it  before  as  now.  I  breathe  a 
longer  breath  than  ever  I  breathed  before.  You  will 
stand  fast  and  sure  and  go  on  in  this  good  work,  until 
your  great  adversary,  the  Devil,  is  turned  into  Hell  !  " 

The  enthusiasm,  determination  and  large  plans  of  the 
Boston  Association  were  characteristic  of  the  New 
World.  In  less  than  five  months,  the  Association  num- 
bered   1,200   members,    "  most   of  whom    were   active 

*  Second  Boston  Reoort, 


120         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIA  TION. 

members  of  the  Association."  The  secular  or  indirect 
spiritual  work  was  carried  on  along  four  lines,  under 
the  direction  of  the  four  committees  of  the  Board  aU 
ready  mentioned ;  the  Committee  on  Library  and 
Rooms ;  Lecture  Committee ;  the  Committee  on  Pub^ 
lication  and  the  Committee  on  Finance.  A  Vice-Presi- 
dent was  Chairman  of  each  committee  and  these  com- 
mittees made  their  reports  at  quarterly  meetings  of  the 
Board.  The  rooms  on  Washington  and  Sumner  Streets, 
for  which  the  Association  paid  $650  rent  yearly,  although 
they  were  in  the  fourth  story,  were  fitted  up  quite 
elegantly.  The  first  report  states  that :  "The  Commit- 
tee on  Rooms  felt  the  importance  of  a  central  location, 
easy  of  access  and  attractive  to  young  men.  If  we 
would  induce  young  men  to  frequent  our  rooms  instead 
of  places  of  danger,  we  must  provide  such  as  are  pleas* 
ant  in  themselves  and  attractive  on  account  of  the 
society  there  found  and  the  entertainment  furnished. 
These  considerations  caused  the  committee  to  provide 
rooms  neater  and  more  agreeable  and  more  attractive 
in  all  respects  than  the  boarding  houses  where  the 
young  men  whom  we  seek  to  benefit  severally  reside." 
During  the  year  1852,  the  rooms  were  frequented  and 
their  advantages  enjoyed  by  a  large  number  of  young 
men.  But  rooms  on  the  fourth  floor  were  not  a  favor- 
able place  for  a  resort.  This  was  to  be  a  prominent 
feature  in  the  plans  of  the  Boston  Board.  So  it  is  not 
surprising  that  they  made  a  vigorous  effort  to  secure 
quarters  nearer  the  ground.  "  The  committee  found  ? 
suite  of  rooms  in  the  New  Tremont  Temple,  admirably 
adapted  for  their  purpose,  which  they  could  have  by 
favor  of  the  owners  for  $1,200  per  year."  Tremont 
Temple  belonged  to  a  Baptist  congregation,  and  while 
the  proposed  apartments  would  command  $1,500  rent,  a 
reduction  was  made  to  the  Association.  "  One  of  the 
most  energetic  and  active  members  of  the  Standing 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  121 

Committee  raised  the  extra  money  necessary  to  pay  the 
rent  for  two  years,"  and  the  handsome  rooms  in  Tre- 
mont  Temple,  the  home  of  the  Association  for  so  many 
years,  were  opened  early  in  the  year  1853,  scarcely 
eighteen  months  from  the  foundinor  of  the  organization. 

In  accordance  with  the  constitution,  a  "  Librarian  and 
Assistant  Secretary"  was  appointed  to  have  charge  of  the 
rooms  and  be  a  missionary  among  young  men.  The 
conception  of  a  secretary  as  the  chief  executive  officer 
was  a  later  development.  Boston  has  been  favored 
with  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  service  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  and  has  paid  them  liberal- 
ly, but  the  first  secretary  began  his  work  for  $507  per 
year.  The  Board  of  Managers  devoted  a  great  deal  of 
attention  to  the  needs  of  the  Association. 

The  receipts  for  the  first  eighteen  months  were  $6,900 ; 
the  expenses  $5,008.  Thirteen  gentlemen  contributed 
$50  each,  and  112  gave  $25  each.  The  same  liberality 
and  noble  devotion  which  in  later  years  has  invested 
nearly  half  a  million  dollars  in  a  palatial  edifice  and 
sustains  an  annual  budget  of  $35,000  for  the  saving  of 
the  young  men  of  a  great  city  was  manifest  in  the  first 
movement  in  1851. 

One  of  the  novel  features  of  the  Boston  work  was  the 
freedom  with  which  they  employed  the  "  press  and  the 
post."  In  January,  1852,  a  circular  announcing  the 
purpose  of  the  Association  was  scattered  widely.  Before 
eighteen  months  had  passed,  more  than  10,000  copies  of 
the  constitution  and  5,000  copies  of  the  first  address 
delivered  before  the  friends  of  the  Association  in  May, 
1852,  outlining  its  purpose,  were  sent  to  every  pastor  in 
New  England  and  to  hundreds  of  Christian  men  and 
women  throughout  the  Union.  "  A  large  quantity  of 
other  matter  necessary  for  the  Association  w^as  printed 
under  the  direction  of  this  committee." 

With  all  the  enterprise  of  the  new  movement,  the 


122         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

managers  of  the  Association  did  not  seem  to  have  very 
definite  ideas  of  how  to  carry  on  the  religious  work 
necessary  to  reach  young  men.  The  presence  of  Tre- 
mont  Temple,  with  its  large  auditorium,  in  the  end 
proved  a  snare  and  led  the  Board  in  a  few  years  into 
the  conducting  of  large  evangelistic  meetings  for  the 
general  public,  which  while  an  excellent  work,  was 
quite  aside  from  the  original  purpose  of  concentrating 
all  effort  to  win  young  men. 

The  first  step  taken  was  to  arrange  through  the 
Lecture  Committee  a  course  of  Sabbath  evening  lectures 
to  young  men,  by  prominent  ministers,  which  were 
delivered  before  the  Association  at  the  Melodeon  Hall. 
A  fee  sufficient  to  pay  expenses  was  charged  for  admis^ 
sion.  These  lectures  were  of  great  benefit  and  were 
open  to  the  general  public.  Some  of  the  ministers  were 
inclined  to  complain  that  it  drew  people  from  their  own 
churches,  but  the  work  prospered.  In  the  summer  of 
1856  a  series  of  tent  meetings  on  Boston  Common,  ad- 
dressed by  leading  clergymen,  was  undertaken.  These 
meetings,  which  were  attended  by  thousands,  were  kept 
up  for  a  number  of  years,  and  were  a  means  of  great 
blessing.  Even  policemen  bore  testimony  to  the  in- 
fluence they  had  upon  public  order. 

The  first  form  of  spiritual  effort  for  young  men  began 
with  the  founding  of  the  Association  in  a  request  by  a 
number  of  the  members  that  a  prayer  meeting  be  es- 
tablished in  the  rooms.  A  meeting  was  held  on  Mon- 
day evenings.  At  first  it  was  from  9  to  10  P.  M. ;  then 
at  8:30.  The  report  for  the  first  year  says :  "  The  meet- 
ings have  been  of  deep  interest.  From  fifty  to  seventy- 
five  young  men  have  been  present  at  each  meeting,  and 
above  all,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  has  been  with  them, 
souls  have  been  born  there  and  quite  a  number  who 
now  rejoice  in  Christ  attribute  their  conversion  to  the  in- 
fluence of  this  meeting."     The  following  year  this  meet' 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  123 

ing  grew  in  power.  It  was  especially  characterized  by 
unity  of  feeling  and  the  enthnsiasm  arising  from  the 
presence  of  members  of  different  denominations.  This 
meeting  continued  to  increase  in  influence  until  1857 
and  185S,  when  the  great  revival  gave  it  an  additional 
impetus. 

The  second  year  a  Bible  class  was  organized  which 
began  with  a  membership  of  136,  but  soon  assumed  a 
more  moderate  average  of  twenty  to  thirty.  Its  meet- 
ings were  held  on  Saturday  evenings.  Some  difficulty 
was  experienced  in  finding  a  suitable  teacher,  but  after 
a  year  or  two,  Mr.  Richard  Gardner  undertook  the  task. 
The  Bible  class  became  one  of  the  most  successful  feat- 
ures of  the  Association.  Unlike  the  British  classes, 
which  were  mainly  for  the  unconverted  or  for  young 
Christians,  these  classes  came  to  be  especially  for  young 
men  interested  in  Bible  study  and  for  training  students 
for  teachers  in  Sunday  School  classes.  "  The  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,"  "The  General  Epistle  of  James,"  "The 
Apocalypse,"  and  part  of  "The  Prophecy  of  Isaiah" 
formed  the  course  of  study  for  one  winter. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  Association  from  its  central 
position  and  union  character  came  to  be  a  sort  of  re- 
ligious exchange  for  the  churches  of  the  city.  Various 
religious  agencies  employed  its  rooms  for  assembly  pur- 
poses from  time  to  time.  Pastors'  Unions  and  Benevo- 
lent Societies  met  in  the  lecture  hall. 

An  extensive  correspondence  was  inaugurated 
throughout  New  England  to  secure  information  re- 
garding young  men  who  w'ere  coming  from  the 
country  and  small  towns  to  enter  business  in  Bos- 
ton. ]\Iuch  effort  was  devoted  to  finding  employ- 
ment for  young  men,  and  many  incidents  are  re- 
corded of  members  watching  by  the  side  of  the  sick 
bed  of  some  country  lad  whose  home  was  miles  away 
on  a  New  England  hillside. 


124  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Very  pleasant  relations  were  maintained  between  the 
Boston  Association  and  London,  which  was  always 
recognized  as  the  parent  of  the  movement.  The  first 
r*eport  says :  "  There  is  a  similar  Association  in  Lon- 
don, from  which  we  took  our  idea,  and  with  which  we 
are  in  pleasant  correspondence."  From  time  to  time, 
letters  of  friendly  greeting  were  interchanged.  In  1853, 
the  Vice-President,  Honorable  Charles  T.  Russell,  and 
two  members  of  the  Boston  Association  attended,  as 
representatives  of  their  home  society,  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  London  Association  and  presented  a  report  of  the 
work  in  Boston. 

By  May,  1854,  the  date  of  the  third  anniversary,  the 
Boston  Association  presents  the  picture  of  a  young 
religious  society  filled  with  spiritual  zeal,  equipped 
with  attractive  apartments  as  a  social  resort,  enrolling 
over  2,500  members ;  a  compact  organization,  with  the 
management  in  the  hands  of  a  small  Board  of  Christian 
business  men,  elected  by  the  evangelical  members :  a 
committee  system  for  carrying  out  the  plans  of  th?. 
Board,  a  clearly  defined  purpose  to  help  young  men 
spiritually  and  mentally,  but  on  the  whole  an  organize 
tion  without  precedents  or  experience  to  guide  it. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Association  idea  was  wel- 
comed in  a  great  number  of  places.  The  efforts  of 
the  Publication  Committee  scattered  information 
concerning  the  movement,  not  only  throughout  New 
England,  but  over  the  whole  nation.  Knowledge  of 
the  Montreal  Association  suggested  to  the  young 
men  of  Toronto  the  formation  of  a  similar  society. 
During  the  years  1852  to  1854,  Associations  were  or- 
ganized mostly  through  the  influence  of  Boston,  in 
twenty-four  different  cities  in  the  United  States. 
Immediately  following  the  founding  of  the  Boston  So- 
ciety during  1852,  Associations  were  established  at  the 
following  cities  in  the  order  named  :  Worcester,  Sp^i:ig' 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  125 

field,  Buffalo,  New  York  City,  Washington,  New  Lon- 
don, Detroit,  Concord  and  New  Orleans.^**  The  fol- 
lowing year,  1853,  societies  were  organized  in  as 
widely  separate  cities  as  Baltimore,  Alexandria,  Chi- 
cago, Peoria,  Louisville,  San  Francisco,  Providence, 
Brooklyn,  Lexington,  Ky.,  Quincy  and  Portland, 
Maine.  At  the  close  of  the  year  there  were  twenty- 
seven  Associations  in  the  United  States  and  Can- 
ada. They  were  young,  inexperienced,  separated 
from  each  other,  but  unified  by  a  common  origin, 
and  a  common  purpose — the  desire  to  win  young  men 
to  Jesus  Christ. 


Sec.  17. — The  Founding  op  the  Confederation. 

Intercommunication  between  the  American  Associa- 
tions existed  to  some  extent  from  the  first,  though  it 
was  carried  on  in  a  desultory  way.  Chance  visits 
brought  Associations  into  touch  ;  ministers  and  promi- 
nent laymen  of  one  city  were  invited  to  give  addresses 
by  neighboring,  and  sometimes  distant,  associations. 
During  the  first  year  of  its  history,  the  Boston  Society 
invited  Dr.  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  perhaps  the  most  active 
friend  of  the  Association  among  the  ministers  of  New 
York,  to  give  a  Sunday  evening  discourse.  Dr.  R.  S. 
Storrs  and  Bishop  Alonzo  Potter  also  accepted  similar 
invitations.  In  December,  1852,  Hon.  R.  C.  Winthrop, 
of  Boston,  who  had  been  present  at  the  opening  of  the 
rooms  of  the  Boston  Association,  was  invited  to  deliver 
an  address  before  the  Association  at  Washington.  Let- 
ters and  publications  were  constantly  interchanged,  es- 
pecially between  Boston  and  the  newer  organizations, 
seeking  information.  Between  Boston,  New  York  and 
Washington,  and  the  parent  Association  in  London,  a 

^°  Report  of  the  Paris  Convention,  1855. 


126         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

friendly  correspondence  arose.  In  February,  1853, 
Rev.  Clement  M.  Butler  was  given  credentials  as 
a  delegate  from  the  Washington  Association,  to 
such  similar  organizations  as  he  might  visit  during  a 
tour  in  Europe.  Mr.  Butler  and  the  two  gentlemen 
from  Boston  already  mentioned  visited  a  number  of 
British  Societies.  A  real  contact  was  established  in  the 
following  year.  In  the  spring  of  1854,  Mr.  R.  C.  Mc- 
Cormick,  of  New  York,  who  had  already  made  a  tour 
of  a  number  of  American  Associations,  and  had  served 
as  an  officer  in  various  capacities  in  the  New  York 
Society,^  "having  given  notice  of  an  intended  visit  to 
Europe,  was  duly  accredited  by  the  New  York  organiza- 
tion as  its  delegate  to  the  kindred  Associations  of  the  Old 
World."  Mr.  McCormick,  in  the  name  of  New  York,  "  vis- 
ited the  Associations  at  London,  Liverpool,  Birmingham, 
Manchester, 2  Huddersfield,  Glasgow,  Greenock,  Belfast, 
Dublin,  Limerick  and  Cork,  with  various  others  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland;  also  those  at  Paris,  Geneva  and 
Turin.  The  most  cordial  welcome  was  extended  to  him, 
and  many  of  the  Associations  passed  resolutions  thank- 
ing the  New  York  Association  for  appointing  a  delegate. 
At  every  point  it  was  insisted  that  Mr.  McCormick 
should  aflford  all  the  information  possible  concerning 
the  progress  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
of  the  United  States."  The  President's  report  to  the 
New  York  Society  the  following  year  says:  "The 
details  concerning  the  work  in  America  were  listened  to 
by  thousands  with  the  utmost  delight.  The  young  men 
of  Europe  were  anxious  to  become  familiar  with  the 
movements  of  their  American  brethren.  Let  us  hope 
that  the  happy  visit  of  our  delegate  may  tend  to 
strengthen  the  ties  of  our  sympathy  and  love  for  our 
Christian  friends  in  the  Old  World."     Mr.   McCormick 

1  See  2nd  Annual  Report  of  N.  Y.  Association,  p.  11. 
23rd  Annual  Report,  N.  Y.  Association,  p.  11. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  127 

did  much  by  interviews  with  leading  workers  and  by 
his  public  addresses  to  arouse  a  sense  of  unity  and  a  de- 
sire for  fellowship  among  the  Associations  of  the  world, 
and  especially  to  draw  the  American  and  European 
Societies  into  closer  relations  and  prepare  the  way  for 
the  first  conference  of  Associations  of  all  lands  held  a 
year  later  at  Paris  during  the  Industrial  Exhibition 
of  1855. 

In  1853,  the  Association  at  Cincinnati  became  affili- 
ated with  the  general  movement,  and  a  knowledge  of 
the  Montreal  and  Toronto  organizations  reached  several 
of  the  societies  in  the  United  States.  In  a  little  over 
two  years,  Associations  with  similar  constitutions  had 
sprung  up  in  the  leading  cities  of  America.  A  feeling 
of  common  origin,  a  common  purpose,  and  a  common 
need  of  each  other's  sympathy,  fellowship  and  encour- 
agement was  ripening  into  the  inevitable  fruition,  a 
union  which  should  weld  together  not  only  Associations 
of  the  same  country  into  national  organization,  but 
which  would  soon  establish  a  bond  of  fellowship  be- 
tween Christian  young  men  throughout  the  cities  of  the 
Protestant  world. 

The  man  whose  name  above  ever}'  other  is  identified 
with  the  early  period  of  the  American  Associations  is 
Rev.  William  Chauncy  Langdon,  of  the  American  Epis- 
copal Church.  He  did  not  have  the  evangelistic  gift  of 
Dwight  L.  Moody,  the  loving  devotion  of  Sir  George 
Williams,  or  the  leadership  of  Robert  R.  McBurney,  or 
R.  C.  Morse.  But  though  his  service  to  the  Associa- 
tion was  not  equal  to  the  service  of  any  of  these,  and 
his  connection  was  limited  to  a  few  years,  while  the  As- 
sociation endures  his  name  will  not  be  forgotten.  He 
was  a  man  of  prophetic  faith,  and  endowed  with  the 
gifts  of  an  organizer,  an  intense  spirit,  yet  a  man  of 
wide  horizon.  He  failed  as  a  diplomat,  but  succeeded 
by   his   determination   and   enthusiasm.     As   e-arly    as 


128         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

September,  1852,  when  the  Washington  Association 
t/as  but  three  months  old,  his  mind  was  filled  with  the 
•vision  of  a  net-work  of  Christian  Associations  for  yonng 
jnen  established  in  every  city  of  the  New  World,  bound 
together  by  ties  of  a  common  origin  ^nd  a  common  pur- 
pose, meeting  annually  in  convention  and  working 
unitedly  as  independent  members  of  a  common  federa- 
tion. A  year  later  he  had  grasped  the  idea  of  a  world 
union,  and  in  June,  1854,  on  the  floor  of  the  first  Ameri- 
can convention,  he  said:  "Already  two  hundred  and 
fifty  such  brotherhoods,  scattered  throughout  every  na- 
tion, people,  kindred  and  tongue,  lift  up  their  hearts  in 
unison  to  the  same  Savior  and  Redeemer,  and  it  scarce- 
ly needs  prophetic  inspiration  now  for  the  heart  confi- 
dent and  trusting  in  Him  to  look  forward  to  a  rapidly 
approaching  hour  when  the  young  men  of  the  age  shall 
have  risen  in  their  strength,  nay,  rather  in  the  strength 
of  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  and  when  through  them  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the 
waters  cover  the  sea."  ^  To  Mr.  Langdon's  faith  and 
generalship  the  American  Associations  owe  the  Confed- 
eration,— the  first  form. of  the  Association  as  an  interna- 
tional mov.ement.  Mr.  Langdon  also  suggested  a  system 
of  corresf)ondence  between  the  Associations  throughout 
the  world,  which  was  adopted  at  the  Paris  Conference 
of  1855. 

The  Washington  Association  played  an  important 
part  in  the  early  history  of  the  American  movement. 
The  capital,  to  a  greater  extent  than  any  other  city,  was 
filled  with  transient  young  men  whom  the  system  of  dis- 
tributing government  patronage  over  different  sections 
of  the  country  drew  to  the  seat  of  government.  These 
young  men  who  occupied  positions  in  Washington  sel- 
dom looked  upon  their  residence  as  permanent,  but  re- 
garded themselves  as  citizens  of  the  home  section  which 

^  First  American  Couvention  Report,  1854,  p.  49. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT  120 

diey  represented.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  Associa- 
tion of  this  city  should  have  been  the  first  to  be  inter- 
ested in  a  federation  of  the  various  Associations.  Two 
other  causes  already  suggested  were,  however,  more  po- 
tent. First,  the  presence  in  Washington  of  a  young  man 
fired  with  enthusiasm  for  a  national  organization,  and 
second,  the  longing  of  the  weaker  organizations  for  fel- 
lowship and  mutual  support. 

In  April,  1852,  a  copy  of  the  constitution  of  the  Boston 
Society-had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  C.  M.  But- 
ler, Rector  of  Trinity  Episcopal  Church  of  Washington. 
Tne  peculiar  needs  of  the  young  men  of  Washington 
seemed  to  Dr.  Butler  to  demand  just  such  an  organiza- 
tion as  the  Boston  Constitution  described.  William 
Chauncy  Langdon,  who  had  recently  been  appointed 
from  Kentucky  an  Assistant  Examiner  in  the  United 
States  Patent  Office,  was  a  member  of  Dr.  Butler's 
church.  Dr.  Butler  placed  the  Constitution  of  the  Bos- 
ton Association  in  his  hands,  with  the  suggestion  that  a 
similar  work  was  needed  in  Washington.  After  con- 
siderable effort,  a  meeting  of  60  young  men  gathered  on 
June  loth,  1852,  in  the  Masonic  Hall,  to  consider  the 
matter  of  organizing  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion in  Washington.  This  was  accomplished  on  June 
29th,  by  the  adoption  of  a  constitution  similar  to  that  of 
the  Boston  organization.  In  August,  six  months  later, 
]\Ir.  Langdon,  who  was  made  Corresponding  Secretary 
of  the  new  Association,  visited  Boston  and  learned  with 
interest  that  there  were  already  seven  similar  societies 
in  America.  On  his  return,  he  planned  a  federa- 
tion of  these  societies  and  proposed  that  the  W^ashington 
Association  endorse  it.  The  meeting  was  an  animated 
one,  the  proposition  being  warmly  discussed.  The  idea 
was  finally  adopted  with  enthusiasm  and  a  committee 
appointed  to  report  on  the  project.  On  October  i8th, 
<he  Washington  Association  almost  to  a  man  adopted  a 


130         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

resolution  favoring  some  form  of  union  with  the  other 
Younar  Men's  Christian  Associations  of  the  nation,  and 
adding  to  its  own  constitution  an  amendment  granting 
members  of  other  Associations,  transiently  in  Washing- 
ton, the  privileges  of  the  Washington  organization. 

Polity  has  played  a  most  important  part  in  the  history 
of  all  organizations,  political,  social,  educational  and  re- 
ligious. Broadly  speaking,  polity  is  either  authoritative 
or  voluntary.  Certainly  in  all  forms  of  its  operation 
society  has  been  moving  away  from  the  military  cen- 
tralization in  church,  state,  industry,  school  and  family. 
which  characterized  early  periods  of  development,  and 
which  were  perhaps  essential  to  a  childhood  period  of 
humanity.  It  is  a  testimony  to  the  wisdom  of  its  lead- 
ers that  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  built 
up  a  voluntary,  not  an  authoritative  polity.  The  Salva- 
tion Army  is  the  one  marked  exception  of  an  extensive 
religious  organization  in  recent  years  erected  on  the 
military  principle,  but  this  is  explained  by  the  uncon- 
trolled class  among  which  it  labors.  Centralized  polity 
achieves  results,  voluntary  polity  makes  men.  It  is 
successful  to  just  the  extent  its  supporters  are  loyal  and 
self-controlled. 

Langdon's  name  will  be  forever  associated  with  the 
polity  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

Immediately  following  the  Association  meeting  in 
Washington,  of  October  i8th,  1852,  in  which  the 
plan  of  a  federation  was  adopted,  Mr.  Langdon  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  the  "  New  York  Association, 
proposing  that  that  society,  as  the  larger  and  more 
important,  should  take  the  lead  in  the  matter."  * 
No  reply  was  received  to  this  communication.  New 
York,  the  Association  destined  to  lead  the  Ameri- 
can movement  during  the  succeeding  periods  of  its  his- 
tory, was  sadly  indifferent  to  the  interest  or  possibility 

*  Early  stor3'  of  th"  Confederation,  page  9. 


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THE   PARIS  BASIS  AS  FINALLY  ADOPTED 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT  131 

of  the  work  at  large  during  these  first  years.  This  con- 
centration on  the  home  field  was  largely  due  to  the 
efforts  of  one  man,  who  made  the  New  York  local  work 
a  success  in  the  face  of  many  dilhculties,  and  who  after- 
wards, as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  Evangelical 
Test,  formed  the  one  theological  symbol  of  the  American 
Associations.  Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  then  a  professor  and 
writer,  who  afterwards  became  prominent  as  a  pastor 
and  as  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  New  York,  was 
the  leading  spirit  in  the  New  York  Association  at  the 
time.  Foi  three  years,  1853  to  1856,  he  was  its  president, 
and  by  his  vigorous  personaUty,  common  sense,  and  clear 
insight  he  held  the  Association  definitely  to  its  main 
purpose,  and  did  much  to  win  a  place  for  it  among  the 
institutions  of  the  American  metropolis.  He  was  opposed 
to  the  New  York  Association's  identifying  itself  with  any 
central  movement. 

Two  distinct  altitudes  toward  the  proposed  confeder- 
ation rapidly  developed.  The  strong  Associations,  Bos- 
ton, New  York,  Baltimore,  and  Brooklyn,  containing  one- 
half  of  the  entire  membership  in  the  country,  for  various 
reasons  were  unwilling  to  lend  their  adhesion  to  the 
plan  proposed.  The  smaller  Associations,  especially  in' 
the  West,  became  more  and  more  favorable  to  some  form 
of  union.  It  was  a  difficult  matter  in  the  face  of  oppo- 
sition and  indifference  from  the  four  Associations  named 
to  make  much  progress. 

When  the  confederation  was  finally  established,  the 
New  York  Association  would  send  no  official  delegates, 
and  later  gave  its  adhesion  to  the  Central  Committee, 
merely  as  to  a  committee  of  correspondence.  The  posi- 
tion of  the  New  York  Association  is  seen  from  its  action 
when  requested  to  entertain  the  second  convention  of 
the  Associations.  Professor  Crosby  replied  officially  to 
the  request,  that  the  New  Y^'ork  Association  had  unani- 
mously decided  in  full  meeting  that  they  deemed  any 


132         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

convention  inexpedient,  and  declined  any  connection 
with  it.    The  reasons  given  for  this  position  were  stated : 
"  (i)  We  believe  conventions  draw  off  attention  from 
local  work,  and  our  institution  is  essentially  local. 

(2)  We  believe  they  foster  a  centralizing  spirit  at  war 
with  independent  action. 

(3)  We  believe  they  will  tend  to  produce  unpleasant 
scenes  and  ruptures  on  such  subjects  as  slavery. 

(4)  We  believe  the  expense  unauthorized  by  our  main 
object. 

(5)  We  believe  fraternal  feelings  between  the  Associa- 
tions  may  be  better  cultivated  by  correspondence  and 
chance  visits." 

This  letter  is  characteristic  of  Dr.  Crosby,  and  illus 
trated  forcibly  the  position  maintained  by  the  New  York 
Association. 

His  real  objection  was  fear  of  division  over  the  slavery 
question,  which  later  caused  very  serious  disturbance  in 
the  New  York  Society  itself. 

Mr.  Langdon,  in  writing  of  this  period,  says:  "In 
fact,  without  being  as  yet  fully  conscious  of  it,  perhaps 
on  either  side,  two  Associations  were  representative  types 
of  two  distinct  principles. 

"  To  the  New  York  Society  its  work  and  purpose  were 
all  at  hand,  all  its  efforts,  attention,  and  interest  were 
concentrated  upon  the  home  work,  save  only  so  far  as 
occasion  might  from  time  to  time  involve  correspond- 
ence with  some  other  body.  The  Washington  Associa- 
tion, on  the  contrary,  whose  membership  was  gathered 
from  every  portion  of  the  Union,  with  thoughts  and 
prayers  divided  between  scenes  and  friends  at  home  and 
those  around,  became  even  more  naturally  the  exponent 
of  the  movement  for  a  national  organization."  ^ 

Not  discouraged  by  the  indifference  already  mentioned, 
Mr.  Langdon,  in  February,  1853,  addressed  another  com- 

*  Early  History  of  the  Confederation. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  133 

miiiiication  to  the  New  York  Association,  but  received 
no  reply.  Rev.  Dr.  Butler  brought  back  to  the  Wash- 
ington Association,  publications  of  the  London  Society, 
and  gave  a  glowing  account  of  its  work.  Mr.  Langdon 
now  corresponded  with  London,  Geneva,  and  Paris,  and 
visited  New  York,  Boston,  and  Baltimore,  to  propose  the 
publishing  of  an  American  Association  Journal.  The 
proposition  was  not  even  considered  by  Boston  or  Balti- 
more. The  New  York  Association  gave  Mr.  Langdon  a 
hearing,  after  which  Prof.  Crosby  frankly  stated  his  ob- 
jection to  the  proposition  and  the  Association  voted 
against  it.  Mr.  Langdon  did  not  for  a  moment  abandon 
the  project  of  a  national  union.  He  was,  at  the  close  of 
1853,  in  correspondence  with  18  out  of  the  22  American 
Associations,  and  early  in  1854,  he  prepared  a  careful 
account  of  the  Association  movement  throughout  the 
world,  which  then  included,  according  to  his  information, 
230  societies.  This  report  produced  a  deep  impression 
both  in  Washington  and  in  the  other  American  Associa- 
tions. It  showed  the  wide-spread  character  and  vigor 
of  the  movement.  The  Washington  Association  now 
proposed  if  any  other  Association  would  act  with  it,  to 
call  a  convention  of  delegates  of  all  the  Associations  in 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  to  consider  the  forming 
of  a  federation.  New  York  again  declined.  Buffalo,  how- 
ever, consented  to  unite  with  Washington  in  inviting 
such  a  convention  and  offered  to  entertain  the  gathering. 
A  few  days  later  the  Boston  Association,  though  it  after- 
ward  refused  to  approve  the  acts  of  the  convention, 
agreed  to  unite  with  Washington  and  Buffalo  in  issuing 
the  call.  Circulars  were  sent  out  inviting  the  conference. 
Reference  was  made  to  the  alliance  of  the  Jiinglings- 
Verein,  existing  in  West  Germany,  to  a  Swiss  union 
which  had  just  been  completed,  and  to  the  alliance  of 
the  British  societies  as  branches  of  the  London  Society. 
The  circular  proposed  "A  convention  of  delegates  to  con. 


i34         YOCNC  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

fer  together  relative  to  the  formation  of  an  American 
Young  Men's  Christian  Alliance,  a  union  of  indepeftdent^ 
equal y  but  co-operating  Associations^  to  secure  such  uni- 
formity of  organization  and  action  as  may  be  thought 
desirable."  ® 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  the  details  of  the  prep- 
aration for  this  important  gathering,  the  first  convention 
of  leaders  in  specific  work  for  young  men  in  an  English 
speaking  country  which  ever  assembled.  It  was  ten 
years  since  George  Williams  had  gathered  with  eleven 
others  in  the  little  bedroom  of  the  ware-house  in  St. 
Paul's  Churchyard.  Like  the  influence  from  that  earlier 
meeting  in  an  upper  chamber  at  Jerusalem,  the  influence 
of  this  little  group  of  young  men  had  already  reached 
Vv'idely  separated  sections  of  the  world,  and  now  from 
Portland,  Maine,  to  San  Francisco,  from  New  Orleans 
to  Toronto,  Canada,  representatives  were  gathering  to 
consider  how  to  inaugurate  on  a  plan  commensurate 
with  the  needs  of  a  continent,  the  work  of  moulding  the 
character  of  young  men.  The  delegates  were  all  young, 
there  was  scarcely  a  man  40  years  of  age  among  them  ; 
the  majority  were  under  30,  and  their  leader  was  only 
23  years  old„  There  were  37  delegates,  from  19  socie- 
ties; 34  of  these  delegates  were  laymen.  Buffalo  was 
not  stirred  by  the  presence  of  a  large  body  of  young  men. 
There  was  no  promise  of  the  great  conventions  of  later 
years,  which  should  attract  the  attention  of  the  Protest- 
ant world.  But  it  was  a  prophetic  meeting.  A  spirit  of 
harmony  and  fellowship  welded  into  one  the  hearts  of 
the  young  men  present,  as  on  the  first  evening  session 
they  united  in  singing  the  words  which  have  since  be- 
come the  convention  hymn  of  the  Associations,  "  Blest  be 
the  Tie  that  Binds  our  Hearts  in  Christian  Love."  They 
felt  themselves  on  the  crest  of  a  victorious  movement, 

*  See  circular  calling  first  Convention,  First  American  Report, 
1854. 


THE  AMERICAN  MO  VEMEN  T.  1 35 

and  their  convictions  were  voiced  in  the  reading  by  the 
delegate  from  Boston  of  the  Sixtieth  Chapter  of  Isaiah. 
"The  little  one  shall  become  a  thousand,  and  the  small 
one  a  strong  nation;  I,  the  Lord,  will  hasten  it  in  its 
time." 

The  convention  assembled  on  the  7th  day  of  June, 
1854,  in  the  rooms  of  the  Buffalo  Association.  Mr. 
George  W.  Helme,  of  New  Orleans,  as  a  pledge,  so  to 
speak,  to  the  South,  that  the  slavery  question  should  not 
be  discussed,  was  chosen  president.  New  York,  Balti- 
more and  Brooklyn  were  not  represented.  Boston  was 
represented  by  three  delegates,  who  sought  to  secure, 
for  future  conventions,  representation  in  proportion  to 
membership  in  behalf  of  the  large  city  Associations.  It 
was  largely  because  this  was  not  granted  that  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  convention  were  not  ratified  by  the 
Boston  Association. 

The  leaders  in  this  convention  were  from  Washington 
and  Cincinnati.  The  two  great  issues  were  the  forma- 
tion of  an  alliance  and  the  proper  object  to  which  the 
Associations  should  direct  their  eflforts,  Washington 
and  Cincinnati  took  the  same  position  on  both  issues, 
but  the  Washington  delegates  were  the  chief  advocates 
of  the  federation,  and  the  Cincinnati  delegation  of  mis- 
sion Sunday  School  work  as  an  object  for  Association 
endeavor.  Mr.  Langdon,  the  real  leader  of  the  conven- 
tion, was  delayed  and  did  not  arrive  until  the  second 
day.  A  motion  had  already  been  passed  which,  if 
allowed  to  remain,  would  have  defeated  the  idea  of  a 
confederation.  It  was  simply  a  recommendation  that 
annual  conventions  be  held,  and  a  committee  of  three 
be  appointed  to  publish  the  report.  On  the  second  day, 
Mr.  Neff,  of  Cincinnati,  and  Mr.  Langdon  moved  a  re- 
consideration of  this  decision,  and  most  earnestly  and 
eloquently  advocated  the  forming  of  an  alliance  that 
should  promote  with  vigor  the  work  of  winning  young 


136         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

men.  The  substitute  plan  brought  forward  was  finally 
adopted  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  delegates  of  17 
Associations,  the  representatives  of  Boston,  who  at  first 
opposed  the  plan,  altering  their  votes  in  its  favor.  The 
resolutions  adopted  were  as  follows : 

Resolved,  i.  That  this  convention  recommend  to  the  Youni> 
Men's  Christian  Associations  of  the  United  States  and  Britis'r, 
Provinces  the  formation  of  a  voluntary  confederation  for  their  mutuai 
encouragement,  co-operation,  and  usefulness,  and  that  they  recom 
mend  that  when  22  Associations  shall  concur  in  the  plan  hereafter 
suggested,  the  said  confederation  shall  go  into  operation. 

2.  That  a  convention  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
of  the  United  States  and  British  Provinces  be  held  annually  at  such 
time  and  places  as  may  be  determined.'' 

3.  That  while  it  would  oftentimes  be  judicious  to  discuss  in  con- 
vention principles  of  organization  and  action,  this  body  shall  have 
no  authority  or  control  over  the  local  affairs  of  any  Association, 

4.  That  a  Central  Committee  be  appointed,  to  consist  of  eleven 
members,  five  of  whom  shall  be  residents  of  the  city  where  the  com- 
mittee shall,  for  the  time  being,  be  located,  and  shall  be  members  of 
different  religious  denominations;  the  remaining  six  to  be  selected 
from  the  Associations  generally,  not  more  than  one  member  from 
any  one  Association. 

5.  That  the  Central  Committee  shall  maintain  correspondence 
with  American  and  Foreign  kindred  bodies,  promote  the  formation 
of  new  Associations,  and  collect  and  diffuse  appropriate  information, 
and  from  time  to  time  recommend  to  the  Associations  such  meas- 
ures as  may  seem  calculated  to  promote  the  general  object,  but  it 
shall  not  have  authority  to  commit  any  local  Association  to  any  pro- 
posed plan  of  action  until  approved  by  said  Association,  nor  to  assess 
any  pecuniary  rate  upon  them  without  their  consent. 

6.  That  the  Central  Committee  be  appointed  by  this  Convention 
and  continue  in  office  until  their  successors  are  appointed  by  a  sub- 
sequent convention. 

7.  That  the  Central  Committee  shall  ascertain  the  wishes  of  the 
different  Associations  in  regard  to  the  time  and  place  of  holding 
*;ach  annual  convention,  and  shall  issue  the  call  as  nearly  as  possible 
in  accordance  therewith. 

By  the  adoption  of  these  resolutions  the  most  impotr- 
ant  step  in  the  establishment  of  the  confederation  was 

^  Report  of  first  American  Convention,  1854,  page  36. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  IS"? 

accomplished.  A  committee  of  thirteen,  with  five  of  \\.^ 
members  resident  at  Washington  as  headquarters,  was 
appointed,  and  Mr.  Channcy  Langdon  made  secretary 
of  the  committee.  Through  his  efforts,  by  January  15th 
of  the  following  year,  22  Associations  had  given  in  their 
allegiance,  and  the  confederation  became  a  fact.  The 
Associations  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  thus  began 
an  affiliated  organized  life.  The  organization  was  ex- 
ceedingly loose,  but  it  was  the  source  from  which  has 
developed  the  supervisory  agencies  to  which  the  Ameri- 
can Associations  owe  much  of  their  usefulness.  From 
that  hour,  the  Association  began  to  awake  to  self-con- 
sciousness, and  to  feel  the  strength  of  unity  and  fellow- 
ship and  the  inspiration  of  a  great  mission. 

The  second  important  action  of  the  Buffalo  convention 
was  the  result  of  a  proposition  from  the  Cincinnati  dele- 
gation regarding  the  mission  of  the  Association.  Mr.  J. 
H.  Marshall,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Cincinnati  societv, 
and  especially  active  in  its  mission  Sunday  School  work, 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day  introduced  a  resolution 
recommending  that  the  Associations  of  America  engage 
in  Union  Sunday  School  work,  and  the  formation  of 
adult  Bible  classes.  The  matter  was  referred  for  con- 
sideration to  a  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Marshall  was 
made  chairman.  Tlie  morning  of  the  second  day  of  the 
convention,  the  committee  made  an  extended  report. 
Mr.  Marshall  spoke  earnestly  in  behalf  of  Bible  instruc- 
tion for  both  children  and  adults.  His  address  made  a 
deep  impression  on  the  convention.  An  earnest  discus- 
sion followed,  in  which  the  measure  was  favored  by  all 
except  delegates  from  Pittsburgh  and  Toronto.  The 
report  as  finally  adopted  was  as  follows: 

"  The  committee  to  whom  were  referred  the  resolutions 
from  the  Cincinnati  delegation  would  respectfully  report: 

"That  they  have  considered  the  subject  of  mission 
work  among  the  masses,  and  in  accordance   with  the 


13S  yOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Spirit  and  action  of  the  London,  Boston,  and  Cincinnati 
Associations,  would  recommend  the  establishment  of 
Sunday  Schools  and  the  organization  of  adult  Bible 
classes,  as  the  initiative  of  this  great  work.  It  appears 
to  the  committee  that  this  would  be  peculiarily  the 
legitimate  work  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 
The  committee  would,  therefore,  recommend : 

"  That  this  General  Convention  of  Associations  recom- 
mend to  the  various  local  Associations  the  establish- 
ment of  at  least  one  Mission  Sunday  School,  to  be  the 
agent  and  creature  of  the  Association;  also  of  adult 
Bible  classes,  where  practicable,  to  form  the  nucleus  of 
enlarged  future  missionary  efforts,  of  the  same  and  kin- 
dred character,  among  the  masses  of  the  population  of 
our  large  cities."  '* 

The  adoption  of  these  resolutions  gave  a  decided  im- 
petus to  the  spiritual  work  of  the  Associations.  This 
was  not  the  beginning  of  Sunday  School  work  as  a 
feature  of  the  Association's  activity,  but  it  emphasized 
it  as  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  Association  endeavor, 
and  thus  led  the  Associations  to  deviate  from  their 
original  and  proper  purpose — the  winning  of  young  men. 

There  was  another  important  matter  v.^hich  came  up 
for  consideration  at  this  convention.  There  were  three 
great  questions,  upon  whose  right  solution  the  future  of 
the  American  Association  depended.  The  first  was  the 
mission  of  the  society;  second,  the  condition  of  mem- 
bership in  the  Association ;  and  third,  the  relation  of 
the  Association  to  the  Evangelical  churches.  The 
second  of  these  questions  came  up  for  discussion  at 
this  convention.  An  examination  of  the  Associations 
represented  showed  that  the  conditions  of  membership 
were  not  uniform ;  two  Associations  opened  their  mem- 
bership to  all  young  men  of  good  moral  character. 
One,  Cleveland,  required  that  officers  be  members  of 

**  First  American  Convention  Report,  1854,  p.  28. 


THE  AMERICAN  MOVEMENT.  139 

Evangelical  churches.  One,  Cincinnati,  admitted  to 
membership  only  members  of  Evangelical  churches. 
The  larger  number,  hov/ever,  followed  the  example  of 
Boston  and  admitted  two  classes  of  members;  active, 
young  men  who  were  members  of  Evangelical  churches ; 
associate,  young  men  of  good  moral  character;  only 
active  members  being  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office.  A 
delegate  from  Cleveland  introduced  a  resolution  recom- 
mending  to  the  various  Associations  the  Boston  plan, 
that  active  membership,  with  the  privilege  of  voting  and 
holding  office,  be  restricted  to  members  of  Evangelical 
churches.  This  resolution,  principally  because  the  con- 
vention feared  it  would  be  regarded  as  an  interference 
with  the  affairs  of  local  Associations,  was  amended  be- 
fore adoption  to  read  as  follows: 

'■'Resolved,  That  while  we  agree  in  the  importance  of  an  evangel- 
ical basis  for  the  operation  of  our  Associations,  and  while  we  look 
to  members  of  these  churches  for  our  leading  and  governing  in- 
fluences, and  in  order  to  preserve  the  Christian  element,  we  recom- 
mend that  such  only  should  hold  office,  or  vote  on  alterations  of  the 
constitution;  this  convention  is  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  the 
qualifications  for  the  different  kinds  of  membership  can  be  best  de- 
termined by  each  Association  for  itself,  as  being  the  best  judges  of 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  that  uniformity  of  action  cannot, 
without  greater  experience,  be  asked  or  expected  of  our  Associations 
by  this  convention."  * 

This  indefinite  action  w^as  without  doubt  the  wisest 
course  that  could  have  been  taken  at  the  time.  The 
American  Associations  were  destined  after  years  of  ex- 
perience to  demonstrate  anew  that  the  surest  way  to 
build  noble  and  solid  character  in  young  men  was  by 
standing  unfalteringly  on  the  evangelical  basis.  They 
learned  later  that  this  very  position  would  make  them  a 
welcomed  auxiliary  to  the  church  and  secure  them  the 
favor  of  the  ministry  and  of  benevolent  and  earnest 
laymen. 

*  Report  First  Convention,  1854,  page  59. 


140  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Mr.  Langdon,  at  the  close  of  the  convention,  gave  a 
careful  address  on  the  Association  movement  through- 
out the  world.  Mr.  Helme,  of  New  Orleans,  the  presi- 
dent, as  he  rose  to  announce  the  adjournment,  said : 
"He  rejoiced  at  the  successful  issue  of  the  convention. 
Great  fears  were  entertained  that  it  would  be  the  scene 
of  wrangling  and  strife,  that  sectional  issues  would  be 
agitated,  causing  an  adjournment  without  action  on 
many  of  the  important  topics  for  which  it  conferred. 
No  agitation,  however,  of  these  questions  has  taken  place, 
and  the  convention,  embracing  delegates  from  Maine  to 
California,  has  met  and  adjourns,  bound  in  heartfelt  ties, 
strengthened  manifold  by  even  the  short  time  they  had 
been  together.  Should  the  Associations  persevere  iq 
their  annual  assemblage,  the  7th  of  June,  1854,  would 
be  remembered  with  pride  and  gratification."  Thus  was 
accomplished  the  forming  of  the  Confederation,  the  be- 
ginning of  the  affiliated  life  of  the  American  Associa- 
tions. 

The  New  World  at  the  beginning  of  1855  presented 
the  spectacle  in  36  of  its  leading  cities  of  organized 
groups  of  young  men,  varying  in  membership  from  50 
to  2,500,  inspired  by  a  love  for  Jesus  Christ,  eager  to  grow 
in  spiritual  life,  and  for  the  most  part  devoting  their 
energies  to  win  the  young  men  of  American  cities  to  the 
same  allegiance.  These  groups  of  young  men  were 
further  united  to  each  other  by  unity  of  origin  and  of 
organization,  and  by  the  bonds  of  a  voluntary  federation. 
It  has  been  said  the  first  period  of  American  Association 
Yistory  extended  from  1851  to  1866,  when  the  American 
Associations  became  more  thoroughly  organized.  Two 
important  steps  of  this  early  period  were  completed  by 
January  i8th,  1855 — the  founding  of  the  movement  in 
America  under  the  leadership  of  Boston  and  Montreal, 
and  the  establishment  of  the  Confederation  under  the 
leadership  of  William  Chauncy  Langdon,  of  Washington. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FOUNDING    OF     THE     CONTINENTAL    ASSO- 
CIATION. 

Skc.  i8. — Gener.\l  Conditions  on  the  Continent. 

We  turn  from  the  restless,  aggressive  industrial  com- 
munities of  the  New  World  to  the  more  conservative 
and  military  atmosphere  of  the  European  Continent. 
The  most  prominent  contrast  presented  by  Protestant- 
ism is  the  union,  almost  the  subjection  of  the  Church  to 
the  Government.  The  Church  is  the  department  of  the 
State  devoted  to  the  maintenance  of  religion  as  other 
departments  are  devoted  to  maintain  education  or  the 
army. 

Americans  can  hardly  appreciate  the  different  atti- 
tude which  Europeans  take  upon  this  question.  It  is 
largely  a  matter  of  heart  and  a  conviction  that  it  takes 
away  the  character  of  Christian  from  a  nation  to  sepa- 
rate the  Church  from  the  Government.  Even  republican 
Geneva,  on  July  4,  1880,  rejected  by  a  vote  of  9,300  to 
4,844  a  proposition  recommended  by  the  "  Great  Coun- 
cil" to  bring  about  a  separation  between  the  Church  and 
the  State.  This  feeling  is  voiced  by  as  liberal  a  thinker 
as  Henri  Amiel,  who  penned  in  his  journal  on  the  day 
of  the  vote :  "  The  sun  has  come  out  after  heavy  rain. 
May  one  take  it  as  an  omen  on  this  solemn  day  ?  The 
great  voice  of  Clemence  has  just  been  sounding  in  our 
ears.  The  bells'  deep  vibration  went  to  my  heart.  For 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  pathetic  appeal  went  on . 
'Geneva!  Geneva!     Remember!     I  am   called   Clem- 


142  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSGCIATION. 

ence.  I  am  the  voice  of  Church  and  of  Country.  Peo- 
ple of  Geneva,  serve  God  and  be  at  peace  together.'  "  ^ 
In  Europe,  the  hoary  traditions  of  the  past  confront 
every  new  movement  in  industrial,  political  and  relig- 
ious life.  The  Continent  has  an  atmosphere  of  its  own, 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that  movements  with  the  same 
purpose  should  have  different  developments  in  the  two 
worlds,  the  old  and  the  new.  Protestant  effort  on  the 
Continent  naturally  centers  in  Germany,  the  "  heart  of 
Europe,"  "the  land  of  the  Reformation."  It  is  here 
that  the  endeavor  to  mold  the  character  of  young  men 
has  had  its  chief  European  development.  Next  to  Ger- 
many, the  center  on  the  Continent  from  which  the 
movement  has  exerted  an  influence  is  Geneva,  the  pres- 
ent headquarters  of  the  World's  Federation  of  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations.  The  Continental  socie- 
ties are  more  limited  in  the  range  of  their  activities  than 
the  American  or  British,  but  this  is  due  more  to  a  lack  oi 
financial  resources  than  to  a  different  conception  of  the 
aim  of  the  Associations.  The  Geneva  Association  and 
the  societies  which  were  influenced  by  it  in  their  origin 
trace  their  inspiration  to  the  London  movement.  The 
German  Junglings-Verein,  like  several  Scotch  and 
American  societies,  has  a  much  earlier  history  and  is 
unwilling  to  regard  the  London  Association  as  the 
founder  of  the  Association  movement.  Societies  of 
young  men  for  religious  and  moral  improvement  are 
very  old  ^ " — much  older  than  either  the  Jiinglings- 
Verein  of  Germany  or  the  Nasmith  movement  in  Scot- 
land and  the  United  States.  The  idea  of  organizing 
young  men  for  the  purpose  of  improving  themselves 
and  other  young  men  spiritually  certainly  did  not  origi- 

®  Amiel's  Journal,  English  Edition,  Mrs.  H.  Ward,  1893,  vol.  IL 
p.  29. 

^"Association  Hand-Book,  New  York,  1892,  pp.  30-35.    (See  Chap 
ter  on  "  History  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.") 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  ASSOCIATION.     143 

nate  with  either  the  London  Association  or  the  German 
Jiinglings-Verein.  But  the  practical  application  of 
this  idea  in  a  form  which  was  destined  to  spread  over 
the  world  under  a  name  which  was  to  be  generally  ac- 
cepted, as  well  as  the  spiritual  power  to  compel  the 
acceptance  of  this  idea,  were  born  with  the  London 
society,  founded  by  George  Williams. 

It  was  the  movement  inaugurated  at  London  which 
has  marshalled  the  Christian  young  men  of  the  cities  of 
Protestantism  into  a  compact  organization  to  win  young 
men,  and  which  has  given  the  distinctive  character  to 
this  world-wide  institution. 

The  German  Associations  had  an  earlier  origin,  and 
have  evolved  a  method  of  operation  adapted  to  the  sur- 
roundings in  which  they  are  placed.  They  are  the  best 
and  most  vigorous  example  of  the  movement  on  the 
Continent 

The  Jiinglings-\'erein  and  the  Christlicher  Verein 
junger  Manner  of  American  origin  are  the  result  of 
forces  in  the  German  Evangelical  Church,  nobly  striv- 
ing to  meet  the  needs  of  young  men  in  the  midst  of  new 
industrial  conditions. 

Sec.  19. — Preparation  in  the  German  Church. 

It  is  impossible  here  to  trace  adequately  the  develop, 
ment  of  the  religious  forces  in  Germany  which  have 
created  the  characteristics  peculiar  to  the  German 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 

The  religious  condition  of  Germany  at  the  founding 
of  the  Jiinglings-Verein  was  the  result  of  a  long  strug- 
gle between  Rationalism  and  the  party  in  the  Church 
which  stood  for  practical  Christian  life  and  eflfort. 

The  Reformation  on  the  Continent  had  been  fol- 
lowed by  a  handing  over  of  the  Church  to  the  domi- 
nation of  the  various  civil   governments.     There  was 


144         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

no  ecclesiastical  organization,  as  in  England,  to  re- 
sist the  appropriation  by  the  State  of  the  management 
of  the  Church.  This  subjection  of  the  Church  to  the 
State  was  followed  by  the  reign  of  Rationalism  and 
a  prevalence  of  theological  discussion.^  Dr.  F.  W. 
Krummacher,  of  Berlin,  speaking  before  the  Evangeli- 
cal Alliance  in  1851,  said:  "Rationalism,  or  that 
form  of  theology  which  indicated  human  reason  as 
the  supreme  authority  on  religious  subjects,  denied 
supernatural  revelation,  and  the  necessity  of  salvation 
to  man,  disputed  that  God  was  able  to  work  miracles, 
and  only  accepted  Christ  as  the  teacher  of  natural  relig- 
ion and  of  a  better  morality,  ascended  from  the  mid- 
dle of  the  eighteenth  century  in  Germany  to  such  an 
extended  dominion  that  the  few  isolated  believers  in 
Revelation  began  seriously  to  fear  that  the  Lord  might 
have  determined  entirely  to  extinguish  from  his  holy 
temple  the  light  of  the  Gospel."^  On  account  of  its 
union  with  the  State,  the  Church  had  to  bear  the  brunt 
of  the  mistakes  of  the  civil  power.  Opposition  to  the 
Church  came  to  be  looked  upon  as  opposition  to  the 
Government.  The  Church  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude 
was  responsible  with  the  State  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  existing  order  in  political  affairs.  For  this  reason 
republican  and  democratic  movements  on  the  Continent 
have  been  hostile  to  the  Church  and  religion.  The 
subjection  of  the  Church  to  the  State  has  made  the 
Church  the  supporter  of  conservative  and  monarchial 
institutions,  instead  ofleaving.it  free  to  minister  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  the  people  and  bear  witness  to  the 
truth.  For  this  reason,  free  institutions  have  been  on 
the  Continent  so  largely  associated  with  irreligion,  and 
this  want  of  the  conserving  influence  of  religion  among 
the  democratic  parties  of  Germany  and  other  European 

*  Hase's  "History  of  the  Christian  Ch'ch,"  English  Edition,  sec.  402. 
2  Alliance  Report,  1851,  p.  419. 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  ASSOCIATION.     145 

countries  has  often  made  those  parties  lawless  and  vio- 
lent. As  a  result  of  its  subjection  to  the  State,  and  the 
admission  of  unconverted  men  into  a  large  share  in 
church  government  and  the  consequent  reign  of  Ration- 
alism, religious  life  in  Germany  at  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century  and  the  beginning  of  this  was  at  a 
sadly  low  ebb.  The  Chureh  was  split  up  into  the  same 
small  political  divisions  as  the  Empire.  The  appoint- 
ment of  pastors  and  theological  professors,  and  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church  were  in  the  hands  of  the  civil 
power.  Support  of  the  Gospel,  instead  of  being  a  volun- 
tary act  of  worship,  was  a  matter  of  taxation.  The 
simple  edict  of  the  King  of  Prussia  was  sufficient  to 
effect  in  1817  the  union  of  the  two  great  bodies  of  the 
Church  in  Prussia — the  Lutheran  and  the  Reformed. 
The  Church  was  looked  upon  simply  "  as  the  religious 
element  in  the  State."  -"  Pastors  held  an  official  relation 
to  their  people.  There  was  no  possibility  of  a  distinc- 
tion betw^een  believers  and  unbelievers.  All  practical 
Christian  work  w^as  paralyzed  by  the  prevailing  teach- 
ing that  every  one  born  and  baptized  in  a  Christian 
country  is  a  Christian,  and  that  the  province  of  the 
Church  is  to  instruct  rather  than  to  convert.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  only  nine  to  ten  per  cent,  of  the  popula- 
tion in  the  country  districts  attended  church  and  from 
two  to  three  per  cent,  in  the  large  towns.  Fully  99  per 
cent,  of  the  children  were  baptized  and  93  per  cent,  of 
those  of  proper  age  were  confirmed,  but  it  was  esti- 
mated that  only  a  small  per  cent,  of  those  confirmed 
were  really  Christians.  Confirmation  was  looked  upon 
as  the  liberation  of  the  lad  from  school  and  parental  con- 
trol, and  often  celebrated  as  such.^  Young  working  men 
passed  almost  completely  out  from  under  the  influence 

^'^  Fisher's    "History    of    the    Christian   Church,"    period    VI., 
chap.  5. 

^  "Die  Mission  an  den  Jiinglingen,"  by  J.  Hesekiel,  Berlin,  1864. 


146         YOUNt^  MEAN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIA  TION. 

of  the  pastors  after  confirmation  when  they  began  to 
earn  their  own  living  as  apprentices.  Two  prevailing 
sentiments  characterized  the  body  of  young  working 
men — "  unbelief  in  the  Word  of  God  "  and  "  indiffer- 
ence and  hostility  to  the  Church."  The  French  Revo- 
lution had  done  much  by  awakening  aspirations  for  free 
institutions  among  the  people  to  arouse  opposition  to 
the  Church,  which  was  looked  upon  as  the  supporter  of 
royalty.  The  result  was  a  manifest  tendency  to  substi- 
tute philosophy  for  religion. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  had  always  existed  a 
party  in  the  German  Church  who  believed  in  Revela- 
tion, who  sympathized  with  a  practical  applica- 
tion of  Christianity  to  the  lives  of  individuals,  and 
who  were  active  in  works  of  love  and  benevo- 
lence. Spener  and  Franke,  who  were  the  founders  of 
the  Orphan  Home  at  Halle,  the  leaders  of  a  party  called 
in  reproach  the  Pietists,  the  Moravians  under  the  lead- 
ership of  Zinzendorf,  Hans  Hague,  John  Oberlin  and 
many  others,  had  by  example  and  teaching  proclaimed 
the  necessity  of  carrying  the  Gospel  to  individuals  and 
of  ministering  to  both  the  spiritual  and  temporal  wants 
of  men.  It  was  this  party  which  made  the  effort  to 
heal  the  distractions  caused  by  the  Napoleonic  wars, 
and  which  founded  the  various  agencies  for  infusing  the 
Gospel  into  the  life  of  the  people  and  caring  for  their 
necessities.  It  was  to  this  party  after  the  shock  of  1848 
to  which  Germany  turned,  under  the  leadership  of  Pas- 
tor T.  H.  Wichern,  the  founder  of  the  Inner  Mission, 
for  a  revival  of  faith  and  for  the  spiritual  power  to 
stem  the  forces  which  strove  to  overthrow  all  the  insti- 
tutions of  society. 

The  beginning  of  the  century  was  marked  by  the 
efforts  of  believing  men  in  all  parts  of  Germany  to  min- 
ister to  the  spiritual  and  temporal  necessities  of  their 
fellow   men.      Christian    H.    Zeller,    of   Wiirtemberg, 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  ASSOCIATION.     147 

founded  in  1820  a  voluntary  institution  for  training 
teachers  to  devote  themselves  to  the  instruction  of  poor 
children.  From  Basle,  Switzerland,  in  this  period, 
there  went  forth  an  influence  for  practical  Christian 
work.  Baron  von  Kottwitz  was  instrumental  in  estab- 
lishing after  the  depression  in  1806  agencies  for  furnish- 
ing work  for  the  unemployed.'*  Amiel  Sieveking,  dur- 
ing the  cholera  plague  in  Hamburg,  organized  a 
sisterhood  for  the  help  of  the  sick.  In  1825,  the  first 
Sunday-school  of  Germany  was  founded  at  Ham- 
burg. In  1833,  Pastor  Fliedner,  at  Kaisersworth,  with 
one  young  woman,  began  the  Deaconess  work  of 
Germany ;  in  1836,  he  organized  the  "  Rheinisch  West- 
falische  Diakonissen-Verein,"  which  has  been  the 
means  of  extending  the  Deaconess  work  over  Germany 
and  other  lands.  Fifty  years  have  achieved  marvelous 
results.  "  In  1894,  there  were  in  the  Evangelical 
churches  of  Germany  between  50  and  70  Deaconess 
homes.  The  number  of  the  deaconesses  was  about 
8,000,  who  were  engaged  in  a  great  variety  of  ac- 
tivities. Six  hundred  were  nurses  in  hospitals;  130 
worked  in  poor-houses  and  infirmaries ;  700  as  parish 
helpers ;  100  in  orphanages ;  340  in  schools  for  small 
children,  the  rest  in  rescue  houses,  industrial  schools, 
homes  for  fallen  women,  blind  asylums  and  prisons."  ^ 

Many  other  institutions  for  the  amelioration  of  all 
classes  of  society  were  established  during  this  period, 
chief  of  which  was  an  institution  for  neglected  children, 
the  Rauhe  House,  at  Hamburg,  under  the  management 
of  Pastor  T.  H.  Wichern.  The  Revolution  of  1848 
opened  the  eyes  of  believing  Germans  to  the  misery 
and  irreligion  which  prevailed  throughout  the  Father- 

*  "I,eitfaden  der  Inneren  Mission,"  Theo.  Schafer,  Hamburg,  1893, 
sec.  8. 

^  "Werberufe  fiir  die  Arbeit  der  Inneren  Mission,"  Seyfarth,  I/cip- 
zig,  1804. 


i 45         VO UNG  3IEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIA TFON. 

land.  A  church  conference  was  called  in  September  of 
that  year  at  Wittenberg  to  consider  plans  of  meeting 
the  rising  tide  of  unbelief.  The  leading  figures  in  this 
conference,  which  was  attended  by  500  representatives, 
were  two  prominent  laymen  and  Pastor  T.  H.  Wichern, 
then  a  young  mission  worker  from  Hamburg.  This 
conference,  called  primarily  to  promote  a  spirit  of  har- 
mony and  union  between  all  parties  in  the  Church,  in- 
stead of  attempting  to  answer  the  dogmatic  questions 
by  which  the  Church  was  agitated,  endeavored  to  carry 
out  its  mission  by  fostering  the  practical  work  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  by  bringing  into  interrelations  the  various 
benevolent  and  philanthropic  agencies  already  estab- 
lished. In  1843,  a  phrase  had  come  into  current  use 
describing  these  agencies,  this  term  "  Innere  Mission" 
was  now  formally  adopted,  and  the  *' Kirchentag  "  ap- 
pointed a  central  committee  to  foster  these  various 
agencies  throughout  Germany.  The  leading  member 
of  this  committee  was  the  man  already  mentioned,  who 
had  been  drawn  into  this  practical  work  through  super- 
intending a  Sunday-school  at  Hamburg,  Pastor  T.  H. 
Wichern.  This  central  committee,  by  the  calling  of 
conferences,  by  publications,  visitation  and  by  agitation, 
aroused  the  believing  elements  of  Germany  and  united 
them  in  building  up  a  vast  net-work  of  agencies  for  re- 
lieving suffering,  ignorance  and  misery,  and  bringing 
the  Gospel  to  all  classes  of  society.  At  the  Wittenberg 
Conference,  Pastor  Wichern  pointed  out  that  **  against 
the  lawlessness  of  the  Revolution,  Christianity  and  the 
spirit  of  love  alone  had  prevailed."  He  declared  "  that 
the  great  social  questions  of  the  present  time  are  not  to 
be  solved  by  cannons  and  bayonets,  but  by  the  Word  of 
God."  At  the  Evangelical  Alliance  at  London,  in  1851, 
he  said :  "  The  Inner  Mission  seeks  to  engage  all  liv- 
ing Christians  in  its  works  of  usefulness ;  it  proceeds 
upon  the  principle  upon  which  the  Protestant  Church 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  yiSSOClATic;.:'.      'A'i 

is  itself  founded,  the  universal  priesthood  of  Chris- 
tians." In  speaking  of  the  work  among  the  poor,  he 
iaid :  "  An  impassable  gulf  has  arisen  between  the 
rich  and  the  poor.  No  stream  of  gold  can  fill  it.  It 
can  only  be  filled  by  the  love  which  is  born  of  God. 
What  we  should  give  to  the  poor  is  not  so  much 
money,  or  food,  or  clothing,  but  ourselves."  ''' 

The  Inner  Mission  embraces  Bible  societies,  city  mis- 
sions, Sunday  schools,  colporteurage,  Christian  lodging 
houses,  work  among  neglected  children,  criminals,  sea- 
men, the  poor,  the  unemployed,  and  the  helpless.  It  is 
a  work  independent  in  its  government  of  the  State 
Church,  and  supported  by  voluntary  contribution. 
Among  the  agencies  which  were  founded  during  this 
first  period  of  Inner  Mission  work  was  the  German 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  which  sought  to 
hold  apprentices  after  confirmation  in  continued  loyalty 
to  the  Church.  The  anti-rationalistic  party  in  Germany 
at  the  beginning  of  the  century  began  to  answer  their 
opponents  more  and  more  by  deeds  of  love  and  practi- 
cal Christian  effort  among  the  people.  It  was  from  this 
party  that  the  inspiration  came  to  organize  the  Jiing- 
lings-Verein,  the  first  German  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association. 

Sec.  20. — Social  Conditions  in  Germany. 

A  profound  industrial  change  was  taking  place  among 
working  men.  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  es- 
tablishment of  new  relations  between  capital  and  labor, 
the  influence  of  the  discovery  of  new  methods  of  pro- 
duction and  new  means  of  transportation,  which  make 
modern  life  so  different  from  what  it  was  a  few  genera- 
tions ago.  The  important  fact  is  the  changed  social 
life  which  these  innovations  forced  on  Germany's  work- 
ing men.     The  boy  who  left  home  to  learn  a  trade  no 

*  Alliance  Report  for  1851,  p.  483. 


150  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

longer  lived  in  the  family,  ate  at  the  same  table,  or 
went  to  church  on  Sunday  morning  with  his  employer, 
as  his  father  had  done  before  him.  In  1786,  an  em- 
ployer in  Leipsic  stated  that  his  workmen  were  under 
agreement  "  to  go  to  church  once  on  Sunday,  and  never 
to  go  out  nights  without  his  permission."^  The  "mas- 
ter was  often  a  sort  of  priest  or  patriarch  for  his  house- 
hold." Between  1800  and  1820,  this  social  relation  be- 
came entirely  changed. 

Masters  began  to  employ  large  numbers  of  "  hands," 
often  of  both  sexes.  The  practice  of  "  binding  ap- 
prentices "  for  a  number  of  years  declined.  The 
working  men's  guilds  of  former  years  were  almost  ex- 
tinct. The  working  men,  especially  the  unmarried 
men,  became  a  roving  class,  who  went  in  great  num- 
bers on  foot  from  city  to  city.  For  the  twenty  years 
previous  to  i860,  the  fluctuations  of  working  men  in 
Berlin  averaged  30,000  annually ;  in  Frankfort  for  i860, 
it  was  8,000;  in  Kassel,  30,000.*  As  a  result  of  the  in- 
creased numbers  employed  by  one  master,  and  of  this 
nomadic  life,  the  cheap  lodging  house  made  its  debut. 
It  became  the  regular  home  of  the  young  working  man 
in  the  place  of  the  master's  family. 

The  young  workman's  bedroom  was  wretched  and 
dismal,  "  cold  in  winter  and  hot  in  summer."  "  Both 
sexes  were  often  herded  indiscriminately  together." 
"The  conscience  of  many  became  so  hardened  that 
they  defended  immorality  as  necessary  to  satisfy  na- 
ture." A  military  physician  states  that  in  a  country 
village  he  found  175  young  men  incapacitated  for 
service  on  account  of  impure  lives.  That  a  single  inci- 
dent of  such  a  character  occurred  shows  the  low  state 
of  public  sentiment  and  morals.     In  1855,  two-thirds  of 

'  Krummacher's  "  Die  Evangelischen  Jiinglings-Vereine,"  pp.  2 
and  3. 

*  Die  Mission  an  den  Jiinglingen,  Dr.  Hesekiel,  pp.  3-7. 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  ASSOCIATION.      151 

all  the  working  men  of  Bonn  lived  in  cheap  lodging 
houses;  in  i860,  this  was  true  of  over  half  of  those  in 
Elberfeld.  The  young  working  man  had  ceased  to  be 
a  member  of  his  master's  family,  and  had  become  a 
homeless  wanderer,  surrounded  by  new  temptations, 
which  soon  arose  with  this  new  social  condition. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  during  this  period  the 
beer  halls,  whose  bright,  attractive  rooms  were  open  to 
all,  increased  with  alarming  rapidity.  Superintendent 
Hesekiel,  while  traveling  secretary  for  the  West 
Deutscher  Bund,  in  1862,  wrote: 

"  These  beer  halls  became  the  source  of  unspeakable 
evil,  especially  to  young  men.  In  1862,  in  Prussia  there 
were  45,000  beer  halls."  Dr.  Krummacher,  in  his  his- 
tory of  the  German  Jiinglings-Verein,  emphasizes  the 
fact  that  the  theatres  also  began  to  increase  in  number, 
and  to  present  demoralizing  French  plays.  The  theatre 
and  beer  hall  became  the  social  resort  of  the  young 
working  man  of  the  cheap  lodging  house.  Dr.  Hesekiel 
says :  "  This  manner  of  life  drove  the  working  man, 
already  disposed  to  unbelief,  still  farther  away  from  the 
Church." 

It  was  to  meet  this  condition  of  affairs  that  a  church 
without  the  evangelistic  spirit  called  the  Jiinglings- 
Verein  into  existence.  It  was  not  a  movement  to 
evangelize  young  men  so  much  as  a  noble  effort  to  find 
a  home  for  the  homeless  young  working  men  of  Ger- 
many and  bring  them  under  Christian  influence.  Its 
religious  work  was  devotional  instruction,  and  it  aimed 
to  hold  young  men  who  had  been  confirmed  in  contin- 
ued allegiance  and  fellowship  with  the  Established 
Church.  "  The  movement  had  the  twofold  purpose  of 
bringing  young  men  back  into  Christian  fellowship 
through  the  Word  of  God  and  to  overthrow  their  indif- 
ference and  unbelief." 


.'52         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Sec.  21. — Origin  of  the  Jungungs-Vereine.  ^ 

Tn  1708,  a  Swiss  minister,  named  Pastor  Mayennock, 
established  a  religious  association  for  the  young  men  of 
his  congregation  at  Basle,  which,  while  it  was  suspended 
between  the  years  1820  to  1825,  ^^^^7  properly  be  called 
the  forerunner  of  the  Jiinglings-Vereine  of  Germany, 
This  Basle  society  was  composed  of  nine  unmarried 
brethren,  who  had  five  rules  of  discipline.  They  agreed 
"  (i)  to  abide  strictly  by  the  teaching  of  the  Word  of  God 
and  the  apostolic  faith ;  (2)  to  shun  all  sectarianism 
and  anything  that  might  seduce  to  it ;  (3)  each  one 
shall  be  true  toward  God,  himself,  and  all  men  ;  (4) 
each  shall  have  the  privilege,  shall  even  be  under  ob- 
ligation to  reprove  and  remind  the  others  ot  their 
faults ;  (5)  especially  shall  each  one  take  care  never  to 
tell  evil  stories  about  the  others,  that  good-will  toward 
one  another  may  be  strengthened." 

From  these  regulations  it  will  be  seen  that  the  ob- 
jects of  the  society  were  solely  spiritual  and  moral. 
There  were  neither  written  laws,  constitution,  nor  or- 
ganization. It  was  simply  a  fellowship  meeting  of 
young  men  with  their  pastor. 

Durinof  the  first  three  decades  of  the  centurv  the 
longing  to  do  something  for  young  men  is  seer'  in  the 
number  of  societies  of  a  similar  character  to  this  move- 
ment at  Basle,  which  sprang  up  independently  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Germany,  notably  at  Stuttgart  and  El- 
berfeld.  They  are  evidence  of  a  growing  conviction 
that  special  effort  for  young  men  was  needed,  and  are 
a  recognition  of  the  new  conditions  and  temptations 
surrounding  them. 

"'Fifty  Years  of  Work  for  Young  Men,"  London,  1894,  p.  274. 
Krummacher's  "Die  Evangelischen  Jiinglings-Vereine,"  Kap.  3. 
"  Die  Jiinglings-Vereine  in  Deutschland,"  D.  v.  Gertzen,  Heilbronn, 
1886,  Sec.  2.  "Die  Jiinglings- und  Jungfrauen-Vereine,"  Schwau- 
beck,  Gotha,  1890,  Chap.  III. 


FOUNDING  OF  CONT/NENTAL  ASSOCIATION.     153 

In  the  year  1833,  Dr.  Frederick  Mallet,  of  Bremen, 
during  a  summer  visit  to  Switzerland,  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  simple  movement  among  the  young 
men  at  Basle.  It  appealed  to  him  as  being  just  the 
needed  organization  to  hold  young  men  after  confirma- 
tion. When  he  returned  home,  he  published  an  ac- 
count of  this  society,  with  an  appeal  for  a  similar  work. 
The  people  of  his  congregation  became  interested. 
"  Two  rooms  were  rented  in  the  center  of  the  city 
which  were  soon  filled  to  overflowing  with  men  and 
young  men  of  different  callings."  Dr.  Mallet  saw  very 
quickly  that  religious  teaching  alone  was  not  sufficient 
to  accomplish  his  purpose.  The  working  men  had  no 
homes  or  elevating  social  surroundings  for  their  leisure 
hours,  and  many  of  them  had  but  little  education.  It 
was  decided  to  add  amusements  or  "  entertainment,"  as 
it  was  styled,  and  instruction.  In  1834,  there  was  or- 
ganized in  Bremen  the  first  Jiinglings-Verein,  or 
Young  Men's  Union,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  young 
men  devotional,  social  and  intellectual  opportunities. 
Its  aim  was  embodied  in  the  following  statement,  which 
is  still  used  in  West  Germany  : 

It  shall  be  the  object  of  this  association,  (i),  "to 
foster  under  the  direction  and  influence  of  the  Word 
of  God,  Christian  sentiments  and  godly  conduct 
among  our  young  men  ;  (2),  to  oppose  as  much  as  pos- 
sible all  the  perils  which  beset  young  men  through  the 
temptations  of  the  world,  particularly  through  the  beer 
halls  ;  (3),  to  unite  young  men  in  Christian  union  and 
fellowship  ;  (4),  through  the  increase  of  their  knowl- 
edge to  enable  them  to  be  more  skillful  in  their  daily 
work ;  (5),  to  serve  sick  and  destitute  young  men  by 
relief  and  attendance." 

These  three  departments — intellectual,  social  and 
devotional — rapidly  became  the  leading  characteristics 
of  the  new  association,  which  soon  enrolled  300  mem- 


154  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

bers,  and  was  given  a  home  in  the  new  parish  building 
of  the  city.  In  organization,  the  Bremen  Verein  was 
substantially  like  the  Jiinglings-Vereine  of  to-day. 
The  constitution  contained  three  features,  a  president, 
usually  a  pastor;  the  managing  committee,  which  were 
chosen  from  the  membership,  with  often  some  older 
men  who  were  interested  in  the  work ;  the  membership 
consisting  of  all  young  men  of  the  parish  who  desired 
to  unite  with  the  society.  The  majority  were  young 
working  men  under  twenty-five  years  of  age.  It  was  a 
compact,  simple  organization,  with  three  definite  ideas ; 
a  practical  movement  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the 
times.  It  satisfied  the  aspiration  of  the  better  spirits 
among  the  young  working  men,  and  gave  them  some 
needed  comforts  and  opportunities ;  it  helped  the  pas- 
tors to  hold  many  young  men  who  were  slipping  away 
from  their  influence.  It  was  a  recognition  of  the  act- 
ual conditions  surrounding  young  working  men  and 
the  duty  laid  upon  followers  of  Jesus  Christ.  This 
movement  soon  began  to  attract  attention  as  a  practical 
effort  to  help  young  men. 

In  1836,  a  young  mechanic  from  Mecklenburg,  who, 
while  at  work  at  his  trade  in  Bremen,  had  become 
interested  in  the  new  J iinglings- Verein,  arrived  in 
Barmen  in  search  of  employment.  At  Barmen,  he  be- 
came acquainted  with  a  young  business  man  named  K. 
F.  Klein,  and  told  him  of  the  efforts  Pastor  Mallett  and 
others  were  making  in  behalf  of  the  young  men  of 
Bremen.  Herr  Klein  was  a  business  man  of  earnest 
Christian  faith,  who  devoted  himself  constantly  to 
Christian  work.  He  immediately  resolved  to  attempt  a 
similar  organization  in  Barmen.  The  beginning  of  this 
movement  in  Barmen-Elberfeld  reminds  one  of  a  simi- 
lar endeavor  inaugurated  but  a  short  time  previously 
among  the  young  men  of  Glasgow  by  David  Nasmith. 
On  his  birthday,  Herr  Klein  invited  a  number  of  young 


FOUNDING  OP  CONTINENT.IL  ASSOCIATION.       155 

men  like-minded  with  himself  to  his  home,  and  in  this 
little  circle  of  close  friends  explained  the  movement 
inaugurated  in  Bremen,  and  proposed  that  they  under- 
take a  similar  work  for  Barmen  young  men.  The 
young  men  received  the  idea  with  enthusiasm  and  de- 
termined to  establish  a  Jiinglings-Verein.  Frederick 
Klein,  who  was  destined  for  fifty  years  to  devote  him- 
self to  the  cause  of  helping  young  men,  was  made 
president  of  the  little  Barmen  society.  His  untiring 
zeal  has  made  this  one  of  the  leading  associations  of 
Germany.  Even  in  his  old  age  he  was  accustomed  to 
visit  the  lodgings  of  the  young  working  men,  and  the 
"  Herberge  zur  Heimat,"  in  order  personally  to  invite 
the  men  whom  he  met  to  the  religious  services  of  the 
Association.  In  1838,  two  years  later,  a  Jiinglings- 
Verein  was  established  at  Elberfeld,  now,  by  the 
growth  of  population,  practically  one  city  with  Barmen. 
Pastor  Doring,  a  devoted  Christian  man,  had  already 
by  faithful  preaching  and  efforts  among  young  men 
prepared  the  way  for  a  successful  work.  A  young  man 
named  Anton  Haason  was  chosen  president.  Herr 
Haason  was  a  man  of  the  same  zeal  and  earnestness 
as  Frederick  Klein.  Dr.  Krummacher  says  of  him  : 
"  With  his  warm  heart  he  encircled  young  people,  and 
we  may  well  say  that  a  stream  of  living  water  has 
gone  forth  from  him  to  all  young  men."^* 

The  Associations  of  these  two  cities  were  closely  af- 
filiated. Under  the  leadership  of  Klein  and  Haason, 
they  soon  became  the  center  of  the  Jiinglings-Verein 
cause  in  Germany.  Their  membership  increased  rap- 
idly. The  best  methods  of  association  work  were  de- 
veloped here,  and  Elberfeld  and  Barmen  have  ever  since 
been  the  leaders  in  forming  the  constitution  and  policy 
of  the  Jiinglings-Verein  movement  of  Germany. 
Jiinglings-Vereine  were  organized  in  1839  in  Karlsruhe, 

1"  Die  Evangelische  Jiinglings-Vereine,  p.  39. 


156         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

and  in  1842,  at  Ronsdorf.  The  president  of  the  last 
named  Verein,  Pastor  Diirselen,  was  one  of  the  leaders 
in  the  early  Verein  work.  He  'was  editor  of  the  first 
association  paper,  president  of  the  first  provincial  or- 
ganization of  Jiinglings-Vereine,  and  was  a  delegate 
to  the  first  convention  of  associations  of  all  lands,  in 
1855.  A  number  of  associations  on  the  Bremen  model 
were  now  organized  in  different  parts  of  Germany.  By 
1844,  the  year  of  the  founding  of  the  London  Associa- 
tion, there  were  some  ten  Jiinglings-Vereine  in  Ger- 
many, under  the  leadership  of  Frederick  Klein,  Anton 
Haason,  and  Pastor  Diirselen.  Associations  now  sprang 
up  in  widely  separated  sections  of  the  Fatherland. 
Reports  of  the  work  were  published  in  the  organ  of 
the  "  Innere  Mission,"  at  Hamburg,  which  attracted  the 
attention  of  many  earnest  men.  The  movements  of 
the  times  and  the  prevalence  of  irreligion  among  the 
working  men  demanded  new  efforts  on  the  part  of 
Christians.  Especially  was  attention  directed  to  the 
large  numbers  of  unmarried  young  men  of  the  working 
classes  who  traveled  about  in  search  of  employment. 
Already  the  scattered  Jiinglings-Vereine  felt  the  need 
of  union,  and  showed  a  growing  sense  of  the  import- 
ance of  the  great  mission  they  had  undertaken.  In 
1847,  in  the  organ  of  the  "  Innere  IMission,"  the  follow- 
ing open  letter  appeared  addressed  to  all  the  Jiinglings- 
Vereine  of  Germany : 

"  Announcement  to  the  Christian  Handworkers'  and 
jung1.1ngs-vere1ne3 

"  The  Christian  Handworkers'  and  Jiinglings-Vereine  of  Berlin, 
Gartz,  Stettin,  and  Greifenhagen  in  Pommern,  send  greeting  to  all 
kindred  associations  among  their  German  Brethren  far  ana  uea^. 

"  Although  you  are  mostly  unknown  to  us,  it  has  been  for  a  long 
time  our  heartfelt  wish  to  enter  into  fellowship  and  loving  relation- 
ship with  you.  We  have  already  experienced  the  joy  and  blessing 
which  fellowship  with  a  few  associatioiir^  can  give,  and  we  are  eager 
for  the  richer  fellov/ship  of  a  wider  circle.     It  is  natural  and  neces- 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  ASSOCIATION.      157 

sary  that  every  association  like  ours  should  reach  out  its  hand  to 
brother  societies.  Our  chief  purpose  is  to  help  young  men  of  the 
industrial  classes,  especially  those  who  are  among  strangers  and 
-wandering  in  search  of  work.  We  seek  to  warn  and  protect  them 
against  the  many  seductions,  temptations  and  moral  pitfalls  of  life, 
and  to  build  them  up  in  honor  and  Christian  character.  To  accom- 
plish this  we  must  be  united.  Therefore  every  association  which 
agrees  with  us  in  the  conviction  that  faith  in  Christ  is  the  only 
foundation  of  morality  aud  that  to  turn  to  Him  is  their  only  hope 
for  the  future,  and  for  the  redemption  of  these  evils  of  society,  is 
invited  to  enter  into  relation  with  one  of  the  undersigned  associa- 
tions, either  by  correspondence  or  by  publishing  information  in  this 
paper  {Die  Flicgende  Blditer),  or  in  any  other  suitable  manner. 
We  know  already  that  many  of  our  German  Brethern  are  of  one 
mind  with  us,  and  therefore  we  hope  that  this  call  will  find  a 
friendly  response  in  many  hearts.  We  are  rejoiced  to  learn  that  in 
many  foreign  cities  where  Germans  are  living,  Paris.  London,  and 
even  Constantinople,  Vereine  exist  which  are  like  our  own.  At 
home  in  the  German  Fatherland,  from  Basle  to  Bremen  and  Ham- 
burg, from  the  Rhine  to  Prussian  Konigsberg,  many  Vereine  with 
the  selfsame  purpose  exist,  but  are  unacquainted  with  each  other. 
Let  us  learn  to  know  each  other  and  draw  into  a  closer  union. 
When  this  has  been  accomplished,  we  can  decide  how  best  we  may 
work  together.  In  the  meantime,  we  commend  our  cause  to  the 
gracious  almighty  protection  of  God.     February,  1847." 

This  letter  was  signed  by  the  Jiinglings-Vereine  of 
Stettin,  Gartz,  and  Greifenhagen,  and  also  by  two  asso- 
ciations of  similar  character  in  Berlin.  The  Elberfeld 
Verein  immediately  published  the  following  answer : 

•'  Circular  letter  of  the  Christian  Association  of  young  mechan- 
ics and  factory  workers  of  Elberfeld  to  the  kindred  societies  of  Ber- 
lin, Stettin,  Gartz,  and  Greifenhagen  in  Pommern  : 

"  We  send  our  heartfelt  greetings  to  our  dear  Brethren. 

"  With  great  joy  we  have  read  your  letter  of  greeting,  and  we 
cannot  conceal  how  much  it  has  quickened  our  hearts.  *  *  *  * 
The  need  is  truly  great.  Wichern  has  well  said  :  '  He  who  lets  his 
sob  go  as  an  apprentice  among  strangers,  sends  him  forth  into  a 
wilderness  in  which  thousands  have  wandered  from  the  right  course 
of  life.  Hundreds  of  doors  which  lead  to  destruction  stand  open 
through  which  young  men  are  drawn.'  *  *  ^'^  *  The  facts  he  re- 
lates of  the  life  of  mechanics  is  appalling. 

"  Oh,  Brethren !  where  such  a  mass  of  misery  aud  sin  abounds, 
shall  we  not.  with  God's  help,  make  an  effort  to  overcome  it?  *  •  *  * 


158  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

We  rejoice  at  the  opportunity  to  share  our  work  with  you.  Our  as- 
sociation is  similar  to  your  own.  Mechanics  and  factory  employees 
are  united  in  an  association,  of  which  twelve  members  are  chosen  by 
ballot  as  an  executive  committee.  The  officers  of  this  committee 
are  a  president,  treasurer,  and  secretary,  who  have  regular  meetings 
to  consider  the  interests  of  the  society.  In  the  association  rooms 
are  Bibles,  books  and  writing  material ;  educational  classes  and  lec- 
tures are  also  provided  to  improve  the  members.  Now  that  we  have 
come  into  relation  with  you,  we  feel  the  necessity  of  naming  an  in- 
dividual member  to  whom  traveling  workmen  on  their  arrival  in 
our  city  may  apply.  Will  you  please  give  any  workmen  among 
your  membership  who  may  be  journeying  hither,  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  Anton  Haasou,  who  shall  give  such  an  one  information, 
not  only  concerning  our  association,  but  such  other  knowledge  as 
he  may  need  during  his  stay  in  our  city.  We  would  also  ask  that 
as  soon  as  possible,  you  act  likewise,  since  the  summer  months  are 
near  at  hand,  in  which  the  workmen  are  accustomed  to  travel. 
*  *  *  *     Dated  May,  1847." 

In  July  of  the  same  year,  th.^.  Jung  lings  bote  ^  the  first 
paper  devoted  to  the  association  cause,  was  established. 
Pastor  Diirselen,  of  Ronsdorf,  became  its  editor.  Then 
came  the  Revolution  of  1848,  which  startled  all  Ger- 
many, Whatever  we  may  think  of  its  political  char- 
acter, it  certainly  aroused  the  Evangelical  believers  of 
Germany  to  the  irreligious  condition  of  the  masses  of 
the  population.  The  leaders  of  the  Jiinglings-Vereine 
felt  that  they  must  unite  if  they  were  to  make  any 
progress  in  winning  young  men  in  the  face  of  organi- 
zations which  had  sprung  up  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  propagating  infidelity.  In  August,  a  number  of 
leaders  of  the  Vereine  met  in  Elberfeld  to  consider 
plans  for  a  distinct  organization.  This  informal  gath- 
ering issued  a  call  for  a  meeting  of  delegates  from 
Tiino-lino-s-Vereine  to  assemble  in  Elberfeld  in  October 
of  18480  Nine  associations  from  Westphalia  sent  rep- 
resentatives, who,  on  the  8th  of  October,  formed  the 
Rhenish  Westphalian  Alliance  of  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Associations,  under  a  district  committee,  with 
headquarters  at  Elberfeld,     Pastor  Diirselen  was  made 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  ASSOCIATION     159 

President,  a  position  he  continued  to  occupy  with  un- 
tiring service  for  twenty-five  years,  during  which 
thousands  of  young  men  have  been  blessed  by  this  or- 
ganization. His  address  before  this  conference  gives 
us  some  idea  of  the  situation  which  occasioned  the 
movement  towards  union.  He  said  :  "  A  spirit  of 
wickedness  has  burst  forth  among  us.  The  tempest  of 
revohition  has  torn  from  our  eyes  a  veil  that  obscured 
a  dreadful  abyss  into  which  we  now  look  with  horror. 
We  see  with  apprehension  how  the  spirit  of  lawlessness 
has  hurled  thousands  of  our  young  men  into  the  vortex 
of  ungodliness,  lawlessness  and  immorality,  from  which 
the  worst  is  to  be  feared.  We  hear  how  hundreds  of 
societies  of  young  men  have  been  formed,  from  which 
come  forth  the  challenge  — '  We  hate  Christianity. 
God  must  be  discarded,  we  will  never  rest  until  every 
comrade  has  personally  renounced  God.'  Therefore 
we  ask  ourselves,  what  can  we  do  in  the  face  of  this 
spectacle  ?  Let  us  resolutely  determine  to  establish  a 
Christian  union  of  young  men,  and  thus  stretch  forth  a 
net  with  which  we  may  rescue  many  from  this  whirl- 
pool of  destruction."  ^ 

The  yearly  festival  of  Westphalian  Churches,  held  at 
Elberfeld,  became  the  occasion  for  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  delegates  from  the  Vereine  of  W^est  Germany. 
This  o:atherinof  at  which  the  Bund  Committee  was 
chosen,  the  work  of  the  year  reviewed,  and  religious 
services  for  young  men  conducted,  became  a  center  of 
great  influence  in  extending  the  Verein  cause.  Many 
pastors  who  came  to  the  church  festival  learned  of  the 
Verein  work. 

In  1850,  a  J iinglings- Verein  on  the  Bremen  model 
was  established  in  Berlin,  then  a  city  of  400,000  inhab- 
itants. This  was  an  important  advance.  In  1853,  ^^^^ 
West    Bund   organized    its   territory   into   small    sub- 

^  Krummacber's  "Die  Evangclischen  Jiinglings- Vereine,"  p.  46. 


i60  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

districts,  with  from  eight  to  twenty  associations  in  a 
district.  This  did  much  to  solidify  the  movement,  and 
with  the  annual  festival,  was  really  a  valuable  system 
of  supervision. 

By  the  close  of  the  "  formative  period  "  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  the  cause  of  the  Jiing- 
lings-Vereine  had  made  rapid  progress  in  Germany. 
During  the  seven  years  following  the  organization  of 
the  Westfalische  Bund,  a  large  number  of  Vereine 
were  established  in  West  Germany.  The  methods  and 
purpose  of  the  Jiinglings-Vereine  of  this  period  may 
be  learned  from  the  report  given  by  Pastor  Durselen, 
at  the  Paris  Convention.  He  said  :  "  These  associations 
have  combined  in  themselves  several  distinct  objects. 
First,  they  are  designed  as  Christian  refuges  for  young 
men.  Second,  they  are  places  of  Christian  nourishment 
and  religious  instruction.  Through  their  Bible  exercises 
and  their  devotional  and  other  meetings,  they  aim  at 
supplying  the  young  men  with  this  essential  need. 
Third,  they  are  places  for  intellectual  training.  The 
young  men  attending  them  belong  principally  to  the 
class  of  artisans  and  hand  laborers.  It  is  an  important 
object  of  the  association  to  provide  those  of  the  mem- 
bers who  may  need  it  with  that  instruction  which  will 
fit  them  for  their  civil  duties.  Fourth,  they  are  de- 
signed to  connect  Christianity  with  social  life,  recogniz- 
ing that  in  every  man  there  exists  a  social  instinct." 

"To  attain  this  fourfold  end,  it  is  felt  by  all  that  the 
association  must  be  based  upon  a  purely  Christian 
foundation." 

"  This  having  been  firmly  laid,  we  admit  to  our  soci- 
ety all  who  will  conform  to  our  rules.  Conversion  is 
the  grind  aim,  but  it  is  not  made  the  condition  of  ad- 
mission. Once  a  week  a  Bible  class  is  held  in  all  the 
associations ;  this  is  generally  conducted  in  a  conversa- 
tional manner."     "There  are  special  singing  classes." 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  ASSOC! A  TION.      161 

"  In  each  of  the  associations,  one  evening  is  set  apart  for 
instruction.  Provision  is  made  also  for  lectures  and 
other  means  of  mental  improvement.  To  maintain  the 
social  character  of  our  society,  we  have  promenades, 
fetes  and  annual  meetings.  A  very  important  provision 
is  that  of  the  Christian  Herberge,  or  homes  for  the  trav- 
eling apprentices  or  others.  They  are  furnished  with 
one,  two,  three,  or  four  beds,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  place,  as  well  as  with  food.  Instead  of  being  driven 
to  the  wretched  lodging  houses  in  which  many  of  the 
traveling  apprentices  and  journeymen  are  compelled  to 
stay,  they  can  find  within  the  precincts  of  the  associa- 
tion a  home,  until  they  may  have  obtained  employ- 
ment. In  all  these  Christian  homes,  a  mild  but  strict 
discipline  is  enforced."  Speaking  of  the  Rhenish 
Westphalian  Union,  Dr.  Diirselen  said:  "In  the  year 
1848,  the  first  of  the  general  unions  of  these  different 
associations  was  formed.  Nine  at  first  joined  the 
Union,  now  it  numbers  130  associations,  and  includes 
at  least  6,000  young  men.  If  these  are  not  all  con- 
verted, they  are  at  least  under  the  influence  of  the  Word 
of  God,  and  are  surrounded  by  the  counsels,  prayers  and 
exhortations  of  living  Christian  brothers."  ^ 

"At  the  head  of  the  Union  there  is  a  committee.  By 
visitation  and  correspondence,  this  central  committee 
maintains  a  constant  connection  with  all  the  associa- 
tions. The  committee  meets  at  Elberfeld.  Once  in 
the  year,  at  Elberfeld,  a  general  meeting  is  held  of  the 
associations.  It  is  a  pleasing  sight  to  see  at  this  meet- 
ing seven  or  eight  hundred  young  men,  from  all  sec- 
tions, who  have  come  to  take  part  in  its  hallowed  en- 
joyment. The  highest  authorities,  both  civil  and  ec- 
clesiastical, have  expressed  their  sympathy  with  the 
work  in  many  ways.  In  most  parishes,  the  pastors  and 
teachers  take  an  active  part  in  the  associations." 

2  Report  of  Paris  Convention,  1855,  pp.  54-6. 


162  YOi'NG  M/iiV'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Sec.  22 > — Geneva  and  Paris. 

PoUticaliy  and  religioush',  Geneva  has  long  maiu 
tained  an  independent  attitude  toward  the  rest  of 
Europe,  Her  people  are  patriotic,  and  have  the  self- 
reliance  of  leadership.  Their  estimate  of  themselves 
may  be  seen  in  the  words  of  their  poet  philosopher, 
Amiei,  "  Geneva  is  certainly  one  of  those  world  anvils 
on  which  numbers  of  projects  have  been  hammered 
out.  The  explanation  is,  that  Geneva,  republican, 
protestant,  democratic,  learned  and  enterprising  Ge- 
neva, has  for  centuries  depended  on  herself  alone  for 
the  solution  of  her  own  difficulties.  It  pleases  me  that 
she  has  not  yet  become  a  mere  copy  of  anything.  This  is 
a  proof  of  her  vitality. "  ^ 

The  Christian  young  men  of  Geneva,  as  early  as  7836, 
used  to  associate  together  for  prayer  and  various  works 
of  charity.  For  ten  years  there  was  such  concert  oi 
action  among  a  small  number.  In  1847,  a  group  of 
young  men,  after  prayer,  decided  to  devote  themselves 
especially  to  win  young  people  to  a  religious  life.  Their 
work  prospered,  and  they  were  given  a  room  for  theii 
meetings  by  the  Geneva  "  Evangelical  Society."  ^ 

In  this  year,  they  became  acquainted  with  similar 
attempts  at  Rlieims  and  Amsterdam,  and  immediately 
opened  correspondence  with  the  societies  in  those 
cities.  As  knowledge  of  these  societies  came  to  them, 
they  extended  their  correspondence.  They  also  at- 
tempted to  hold  religious  meetings  for  young  people 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Geneva.  These  unorganized 
efforts  were  attended  with  considerable  difficulty,  and 
the  movement  was,  in  1851,  in  danger  of  extinction 
when  it  was  brought  into  contact  with  the  London  work 
directly,  by  correspondence,  and  indirectly,  through  the 

'  Amiel's  Journal,  Vol.  II.,  p.  301. 
*  Paris  Conference  Report,  p.  48. 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  ASSOCIATION.     l»i;5 

influence  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of 
Paris.  ^ 

Mr.  George  Williams  was  now  thirty  years  of  age, 
and  had  become  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  George 
Hitchcock  &  Co.  His  interest  in  Christian  work  for 
young  men  had  increased  year  by  year.  In  1850,  dur- 
ing a  business  trip  to  Paris,  he  called  upon  Pasteur  J.  P. 
Cook,  one  of  the  Protestant  ministers  of  the  city,  and 
urged  him  to  do  definite  work  for  young  men.  As  a 
result,  Mr,  Cook  associated  himself  with  some  students 
who  were  already  in  the  habit  of  meeting  for  religious 
exercises,,  and  soon  a  band  of  eighteen  young  men 
were  united  together  for  mutual  spiritual  edification. 
In  December,  185 1,  Mr,  Williams  again  visited  them 
and  encouraged  them,  but  reminded  them  that  they 
were  doing  nothing  for  the  multitudes  of  young  men 
who  came  to  Paris  and  there  lost  their  religious  im- 
pressions.*' They  ought  to  be  aggressive  and  organ- 
ize themselves  for  the  purpose  of  directing  their  efforts. 
Having,  however,  a  dread  of  organization,  they 
made  objections  which  Mr.  Williams  succeeded  in 
removing,  by  relating  what  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  was  doing  in  London.  A  com- 
mittee was  formed,  which  after  mature  deliberation 
drew  up  a  plan  of  organization.  This  was  then  sub- 
mitted for  approval  to  several  pastors.  The  name 
tvhich  they  chose  for  themselves  was  "  Union  Chretienne 
des  Jeunes  Gens."  At  length,  on  the  19th  of  March, 
1852,  twelve  young  men  met  together,  and  having  de- 
clared their  faith,  enrolled  their  names  as  members  of 
the  proposed  association.  This  was  the  first  Frencli 
Union  ever  formed.  The  Geneva  young  men  by  cor- 
respondence had  already  become  acquainted  with  the 
London  work,  and  this  organization  of  an  association 

^  Paris  Report,  p.  49. 
^  Pari 3  R.eport.  "o.  3.}. 


IC4  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIA  TION. 

at  Paris  encouraged  the  young  men  of  Geneva  to  mai^e 
a  similar  effort.  After  advising  with  the  secretary  of 
the  London  Association,  the  young  men  who  had 
previously  been  associated  together  decided  to  organ- 
ize. "A  provisional  committee  drew  up  regulations, 
chose  a  suitable  location,  and  on  the  ist  of  Decem- 
ber, 1852,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  ^Association  of 
Geneva,  consisting  of  30  members,  was  founded."  Merle 
D'Aubigne  was  among  those  who  assisted  materially  in 
this  movement.  The  rooms  of  the  new  society  were 
open  every  evening  and  frequented  by  between  150  and 
200  young  men.  The  number  of  members  soon  in- 
creased to  80.  Every  year  a  general  assembly  of  the 
members  was  held.  Several  members  devoted  to  the 
work  of  the  Association  went  out  as  delegates  to  visit 
the  south  of  France,  Paris,  and  Alsace.  "  During  the 
winter  months,  a  gathering  of  some  sort  was  held  on  each 
evening  of  the  week."  ^  For  the  most  part,  the  meetings 
were  of  a  religious  character.  Through  the  influence  of 
Geneva,  the  small  unions  of  young  men  in  France  and 
Switzerland,  so  far  as  they  were  large  enough,  organized 
themselves  into  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 
The  Geneva  Association  extended  its  correspondence  to 
Associations  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  In  1853,  this  work 
had  become  so  extended  that  it  was  carried  on  largely 
by  means  of  printed  circulars.  In  August,  1853,  the 
first  communication  was  established  between  Geneva 
and  the  United  States.*  Delegates  from  other  countries 
visited  Geneva,  and  much  was  done  to  promote  a  friendly 
intercourse  between  the  Associations  of  the  world. 

Sec.  23. — Summary. 

By  1855,  at  nearly   200  points  on   the  Continent  of 
Europe,  with  Elberfeld  and  Geneva  as  leaders,  there 

'  Paris  Report,  p.  48. 

*  Langdon's  Early  Story  of  the  Confederation,  page  27. 


FOUNDING  OF  CONTINENTAL  ASSOCIATION.     105 

were  small  groups  of  Christian  young  men,  enrolling  in 
all  some  7,800  members,  organized  for  the  definite  pur- 
pose of  improving  themselves  and  their  associates  spir- 
itually, intellectually  and  socially.  These  groups  aver- 
aging much  smaller  in  size  than  the  Associations  of 
England  or  America,  they  had  smaller  financial  resources 
and  fewer  friends  of  influence  and  distinction.  Their 
work  was  more  largely  among  the  humbler  classes  of 
young  working  men,  and  the  average  membership  was 
younger  in  age,  but  they  were  animated  by  the  same 
purpose  and  had  perhaps  a  deeper  spirit  of  devotion, 
though  less  evangelistic  zeal. 

Not  only  was  there  a  movement  among  young  men  on 
the  Continent  of  Europe,  but  already  the  Association 
idea  was  rallying  young  men  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
There  were  now,  one  society  in  Algiers,  three  in  Aus- 
tralia, one  at  Constantinople,  and  in  1854,  a  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  was  organized  by  students 
at  Beyrout,  Syria.  ^ 

®  First  Ameri'"i3n  Report,  1854,  page  48. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  WORLD'S 
ALLIANCE. 

Sec.  24. — The  Paris  Convention,  August,  1855. 

We  have  seen  how  the  idea  of  young  men  associating 
themselves  together  for  the  improvement  of  all  young 
men,  spiritually,  mentally,  and  socially,  had  gradually 
taken  root  in  widely  separated  sections  of  the  world.  A 
common  purpose,  common  difficulties,  a  common  faith, 
with  many  societies  a  common  origin,  above  all  a  com- 
mon need  of  sympathy  and  mutual  support,  overcame 
the  barriers  of  language,  nationality,  difference  of 
church  relationship,  and  distance,  and  drew  these  young 
men  irresistibly  together.  The  idea  of  a  world  organi- 
zation of  young  men  devoted  to  elevating  the  young 
men  of  the  world  was  hammering  out  a  social  force 
that  was  to  wield  a  mighty  influence,  and  though  the 
great  work  of  the  Association  has  really  been  accom- 
plished since  1880,  it  was  during  these  years  of  hope, 
experiment  and  sacrifice  that  the  foundations  were  laid. 
Letters,  chance  visits,  regularly  appointed  delegates, 
printed  circulars,  journals,  and  conferences,  in  Germany 
and  America,  had  aroused  a  feeling  of  unity,  and  had 
awakened  a  desire  for  concerted  action.  Between  the 
years  185 1  and  1855  the  London  Association  had  grown 
in  strength,  confidence,  and  prestige.  In  1851,  just  as 
the  work  began  to  assume  the  proportion  of  a  world-wide 
endeavor,  the  noble  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  whose  name 
has  been  identified  with  so  many  social  movements  for 
the  elevation  and  ameliorating  of  the  condition  of  tliQ 


FORMATION  OF  THE   WORLD'S  .ILLIANCE.        107 

oppressed  classes  in  England,  accepted  the  presidenc;^ 
of  the  London  Association,  a  position  he  was  to  hold 
until  his  death,  in  1885. 

The  activity  of  the  London  Association  during  the 
great  Industrial  Exhibition  did  much  to  inform  visitors 
from  foreign  lands  concerning  its  plans,  aims,  and  work. 
Messrs.  W.  Edwyn  Shipton,  T.  H.  Tarlton,  George  Will- 
iams and  T.  H.  Gladstone,  in  various  ways,  through 
letters,  visits,  and  addresses,  helped  to  awaken  a  spirit 
ji  fellowship  between  the  widely  scattered  Associations ; 
but,  above  all,  the  location  of  the  London  Association 
in  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  world  enabled  it 
frequently  to  entertain  representatives  from  Association*' 
of  the  various  countries  in  which  the  movement  had 
taken  firm  root.  In  this  way,  the  London  Society  be- 
came almost  unconsciously  the  headquarters  of  this 
rapidly  spreading  movement  of  which  Mr.  Williams  and 
Mr.  Shipton  were  the  natural  leaders.  Mr.  Shipton  was 
a  man  of  broad  mind,  with  a  grasp  on  affairs — an  ener- 
getic executive,  of  powerful  frame  and  strong  will,  with 
oratorical  gifts  and  intense  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
young  m^en.  For  thirty  years  he  was  the  faithful  secre- 
tary of  the  Central  London  Association,  and  one  of  the 
most  important  factors  in  the  world-wide  work.  He 
carried  on  a  correspondence  with  New  York,  Washing- 
ton, Boston,  and  the  various  Associations  in  Europe. 
He  prepared  in  1855  the  firsthistory  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  which  vv'as  published  in  volume  i 
of  the  Exeter  Hall  Lecture  Series. 

The  Association  at  Paris,  of  which  Pasteur  J.  Paul 
Cook  was  the  leading  spirit,  gradually  extended  its 
influence,  and  in  connection  with  the  society  at 
Nismes,  which  traced  its  origin  to  Geneva,  pushed 
the  Association  idea  among  the  Protestant  commu- 
nities of  France.  ^  ^   Correspondence  was  kept  up  between 

^^  Shiotou's  History  Exeter  Hall  Lectures,  vol.  I 


16  .         YOUNG  MEN'S  ClIRfS'r/AN  ASSOCIATION. 

these  meetings  and  the  Paris  Association.  In  these 
friendly  letters  the  desire  was  expressed  for  a  con- 
ference, in  which  leaders  in  the  different  Associations 
of  France  might  meet  face  to  face.  The  year  of  the 
Industrial  Kxhibition  at  Paris  in  1855  furnished  a  fa- 
vorable opportunity  for  such  a  gathering.  This  confer- 
ence being  determined  upon,  the  expectation  of  visitors 
from  all  lands  at  the  exhibition  suggested  the  idea  of  a 
world  convention  of  delegates  from  foreign  as  well  as 
French  Associations.  ^  The  Evangelical  Alliance,  which 
had  held  its  first  great  gathering  with  some  800  repre- 
sentatives from  all  Protestant  nations  at  London  during 
the  World's  I'air  of  185 1,  had  determined  to  call  a  similar 
assembly  to  meet  in  Paris  from  August  23  to  August  30, 
during  the  Paris  Exposition.  The  committee  of  the 
Paris  Young  Men's  Association  chose  the  days  August 
19th  to  24tli  for  the  Association  conference,  in  order 
that  where  it  would  be  desirable  the  same  person  might 
be  a  delegate  to  both  gatherings.  This  was  a  very  for- 
tunate arrangement.  Thirty-seven  of  the  delegates  to 
the  convention  were  also  delegates  to  the  alliance,  and 
18  other  delegates  to  the  alliance,  who  were  members 
of  Associations,  attended  sessions  of  the  convention. 
The  program  of  the  conference  announced  that  op- 
portunity would  be  given  to  consider  a  proposition  from 
America  concerning  a  system  of  international  corre- 
spondence, and  that  the  conference  would  be  especially 
devoted  to  considering  reports  of  the  work  of  the  Asso- 
ciations in  all  lands.  The  invitation  sent  out  by  the 
Paris  society  met  with  a  cordial  response.  It  appealed 
to  the  growing  sense  of  unity  among  the  scattered 
organizaions  of  Pvurope  and  America,  and  such  coun- 
tries as  were  able  decided  at  once  to  be  represented. 
The  conference  assembled  in  the  rooms  of  the  Pans 

^  Young  Men's  Christian    Association   Hand  Book,   New   Yorx. 
1892,  p.  442. 


FORM  ATI  ox  OF  THE   WORLD'S  ALLIANCE.        IGii 

Association  on  vSunday  evening,  August  19,  1855. 
Fifty  representatives  were  present  at  the  first  session, 
which  was  devoted  to  prayer  and  consecration.  This 
number  was  afterwards  increased  to  97  representatives 
of  Associations,  35  of  whom  were  regularly  accredited 
delegates  to  the  convention.  Associations  from  36  Eu- 
ropean cities  of  seven  different  nationalities  sent  90 
representatives.  Seven  delegates  were  present  from 
America,  three  being  from  New  York,  three  from  Phil- 
adelphia, and  one  from  Newark,  New  Jersey.  The  con- 
ference was  not  only  representative  of  the  chief  associa- 
tions in  existence,  but  the  leaders  of  the  work  were 
present  to  give  character  to  its  proceedings  and  weight 
to  its  decisions.  George  Williams,  W.  Edwyn  Shipton, 
T.  H.  Tarlton,  and  T.  H.  Gladstone  were  among  the 
representatives  from  the  London  Association.  They 
took  an  important  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  convention  ; 
especially  Mr.  Shipton,  who  at  the  critical  moments 
spoke  the  word  and  made  the  suggestion  which  brought 
harmonious  action. 

The  leaders  of  the  American  delegation  were  Rev. 
Abel  Stevens,  of  New  York,  and  George  H.  Stuart,  of 
Philadelphia.  Mr.  Stevens  was  a  minister  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  who  had  been  active  in  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  the  New  York  Association,  in  which  he  had 
served  as  vice-president  and  chairman  of  an  important 
committee.  Mr.  Stuart  was  president  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Association,  and  was  destined  in  a  few  years  to 
gain  national  distinction  in  America  as  president 
of  the  United  States  Christian  Commission  during  the 
Civil  War.  The  two  prominent  delegates  from  Germany 
were  Pastor  Diirselen,  the  president  of  the  Westfa- 
lische  Union,  and  K.  P.  Klein,  president  of  the  Jiing- 
lings-Verein  of  Barmen.  From  Switzerland,  the 
leaders  were  Max  Perrot  and  Edward  Barde,  from 
Geneva,  and  Pasteur  Chas.  Cuenod,  from    Lausanne. 


170  VOU.\G  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Pasteur  J.  Paul  Cook,  of  Paris,  who  had  been  the  chief 
factor  in  arranging  the  conference,  was  in  grateful 
acknowledgment  chosen  its  president. 

Like  the  American  gathering  at  Bufifalo  of  the  year 
before,  this  unobserved  conference  of  young  men  did 
not  attract  much  comment  from  the  Church  or  State, 
but  the  young  men  themselves  were  impressed  with 
the  conviction  that  they  were  pioneers  in  a  great  cause. 
A  spirit  of  earnestness  and  hope  prevailed  in  all  the  ses- 
sion, and  though  it  was  the  first  conference  of  represent- 
atives from  widely  separated  countries,  so  harmonious 
were  the  proceedings  that  the  resolutions  of  the  con- 
vention were  adopted  imanimously.  The  report  says : 
"  The  first  session,  which  was  to  many  the  first  oppor- 
tunity of  meeting  face  to  face  brethren  whose  names 
and  whose  deeds  have  long  been  familiar,  was  conse- 
crated to  prayer.  Friendship  was  sealed  by  devotion, 
and  many  voices  in  French  and  English  were  raised  to 
the  Lord  to  implore  His  blessing.  A  deep  feeling  of 
their  oneness  as  Christians,  of  their  common  brother- 
hood as  well  in  faith  as  in  labor,  pervaded  this  gather- 
ing from  many  lands." 

Two  days  were  devoted  to  hearing  addresses  and 
reports  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  in  the  various  countries  repre- 
sented.  These  reports  give  a  true  picture  of  the  move- 
ment in  1855.  They  show  that  in  Great  Britain,  espe- 
cially in  London  and  Glasgow,  in  the  eastern  cities  of 
America,  in  Westphalia  and  the  Rhine  provinces  of 
Germany,  and  in  Geneva  there  was  a  strongly  en- 
trenched Christian  sentiment  in  favor  of  organized  effort 
to  help  young  men,  spiritually,  intellectually,  and  so- 
cially. This  sentiment  had  crystallized  into  organiza- 
tions of  young  men,  who,  standing  on  an  evangelical 
platform,  were  endeavoring  to  discover  the  best  methods 
for  accomplishing  their  purpose.     The    movement   as 


/^ORI^TATION  OF  THE  WORLD'S  ALLIANCE.       173 

yet  was  more  exclusively  religious  in  its  character  than 
in  later  years,  and  provided  less  for  other  needs  of 
young  men.  It  was,  however,  less  definite  in  its  aim. 
The  two  purposes  expressed  at  the  convention  were : 
First,  tlie  development  of  Christian  activity  among  the 
members  of  the  Associations,  and,  second,  the  conver- 
sion of  young  men.  The  development  of  activity  in 
Christian  work  among  the  members  had  led  the  Asso- 
ciations in  many  places  to  devote  their  energies  to  other 
classes  in  society  instead  of  concentrating  on  the  "  ex- 
tension of  Christ's  Kingdom  among  young  men." 

The  British  Associations  at  this  time  (1855)  possessed 
the  best  organization,  with  the  most  complete  financial 
resources,  the  greatest  social  prestige,  and  the  most 
marked  evangelistic  zeal.  They  gave  a  large  place  to 
the  study  of  the  Bible  and  were  the  most  careful  in  con- 
centrating their  efforts  upon  young  men. 

The  American  Associations,  though  only  four  years 
old,  were  larger  in  membership,  more  aggressive,  less 
spiritual,  with  a  greater  variety  of  activities, — a  national 
organization,  a  stronger  emphasis  upon  the  need  of  bet- 
ter social  surroundings  for  young  men,  a  greater  empha- 
sis upon  religious  meetings  than  Bible  study,  and  a 
disposition  to  devote  their  energies  to  various  classes  of 
society. 

The  Continental  Associations  were  much  smaller  in 
size,  were  not  confined  to  cities,  poorer  in  financial  re- 
sources, deeper  in  devotional  spirit,  more  inclined  to 
limit  their  activities  to  improving  the  membership  of 
their  societies,  given  to  Bible  study  and  social  fellow- 
ship. Few  of  the  continental  societies  provided  places 
of  resort  for  young  men  not  members,  but  in  Germany 
much  attention  was  devoted  to  providing  lodging  houses 
for  young  workmen  away  from  home. 

The  numerical  strength  of  the  movement  is  presentef", 
in  the  Report  of  the  Pans  covention,  August,  1855. 


172  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIAriON. 


6000  Members 

700 

" 

700 

" 

400 

li 

60 

<t 

7860 

i( 

8500 

<i 

14000 

" 

Contmenl  of  Europe. 

Germany 130  Associations 

Switzerland  ....    54 

France 49 

Holland 10 

Belgium  and  Italy  .      3 

Total  for  Continent  246 

British   Isles    ...    47 
U.  S.  and  Canada  .    36 

Total  in  World  .    .  329  "  30360  " 

The  average  American  society  enrolled  380  yonng 
men,  the  British  180,  and  the  Continental  32.  Conti- 
nental Europe  enrolled  about  one-fourth  of  the  mem- 
bership of  the  Associations  in  1855,  and  has  maintained 
a  similar  relation  to  the  movement  ever  since.  At  the 
time  of  the  Paris  convention  there  was  not  a  single  paid 
officer  on  the  Continent  who  devoted  his  whole  time  to 
the  work,  and  probably  less  than  a  dozen  in  England 
and  America. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  the  third  evening  of  the  con- 
vention, Pasteur  Cuenod,  of  Lausanne,  "  proposed  the 
adoption  of  the  system  of  general  correspondence  first 
suggested  by  Mr.  Chauncy  Langdon,  of  Washington, 
United  States."  ^  America,  which  was  destined  soon 
by  increased  membership,  wealth,  and  the  large  num- 
ber of  its  general  secretaries,  to  share  with  London  the 
leadership  in  the  Association  cause,  already  took  an 
active  part  in  the  general  movement.  As  early  as  Feb- 
ruary 22d,  1854,  Mr.  Chauncy  Langdon  had  sketched 
in  outline  to  the  Washington  Association  "  a  scheme 
of  international  correspondence,  in  which  there  should 
be  a  center  of  information  for  every  national  group 
of  Associations,  each  center  being  in  direct  corre- 
spondence with  all  others,  furnishing  them  on  the 
one    hand    information   from    its   own    field   and    dis- 

^  See  Paris  Report,  1S55,  p.  18. 


FORMATION  OF  THE  WORLD'S  ALLIANCE.       iTr? 

tributing  in  turn,  to  the  Associations  of  its  own 
national  group,  the  information  so  received  from 
abroad."  ^  Mr.  Langdon  wrote  to  the  London  and 
Geneva  Associations  proposing  this  plan  of  corre- 
spondence. The  Geneva  Association  endorsed  it  and 
in  a  printed  circular  suggested  it  to  the  Associations 
in  a  more  enlarged  form.  Pasteur  Cuenod  expressed  to 
the  convention  his  approval  of  this  plan  of  correspond- 
ence and  moved  that  the  conference  recommend  it  to  the 
Associations.  The  general  idea  was  warmly  advocated 
by  Messrs.  Tarlton  and  Shipton  of  London,  Mr.  Stev- 
ens of  New  York,  and  Dr.  Diirselen  of  Germany.  It 
was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  committee.  W.  Ed- 
wyn  Shipton,  to  carry  out  this  proposition,  proposed  the 
following  resolution:  "That  the  conference  having 
resolved  upon  a  system  of  general  correspondence  by 
means  of  centres  in  each  country,  recommend  the  fol- 
lowing cities  as  centres  for  their  respective  countries, 
subject  to  confirmation  of  the  Local  Associations : 

London  as  centre  for  England. 

Edinburgh  centre  for  Scotland. 

Dublin  centre  for  Ireland. 

Paris  and  Nismes  for  France  and  Belgium,  and 

St.  Gall  for  Switzerland. 

Amsterdam  as  centre  for  Holland, 

Elberfeld  and  Stuttgart  as  centres  for  Germany. 

Washington  and  New  York  as  centres  for  United  States ; 
and  that  the  British  Colonies  in  America  and  Australia 
be  corresponded  with  separately  and  the  Waldensian 
Valleys,  the  Associations  in  the  Levant  and  other  out- 
lying places,  be  corresponded  with  through  Geneva." 
Representatives  present  were  appointed  from  the  differ- 
ent nations  to  see  that  this  resolution  was  carried  out, 
and  W.  Edwyn  Shipton,  of  London,  was  appointed  to 
receive  froni  the  various  Associations  the  announcement 

^  Karly  Story  of  the  Co^^eci.crration,  \).  27. 


174  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

of  their  adhesion  to  this  plan,  and  as  soon  as  their  re- 
plies were  received  to  inaugurate  the  correspondence. 
This  practically  recognized  Mr.  Shipton  as  the  leader  in 
the  world's  work. 

There  was  no  definite  world  organization.  The  Asso- 
ciations depended  on  the  spiritual  bond  of  fellowship  to 
hold  them  together.  They  felt  the  need  of  a  spiritual 
union  and  depended  on  the  leaders  in  the  different  coun- 
tries to  bring  this  about.  The  lack  of  unity  in  the  re- 
ligious hfe  of  Europe  was  the  chief  obstacle  to  be  over- 
come in  forming  a  real  alliance. 

On  Wednesday  afternoon,  August  22nd,  the  supreme 
moment  of  the  conference  was  reached.  The  delegates 
had  come  from  various  lands,  from  various  church  com- 
munions, they  spoke  different  tongues,  they  had  listened 
to  each  other's  reports,  they  had  decided  upon  a  system 
of  correspondence,  but  the  three  days  during  which 
they  had  associated  together  had  revealed  to  them  all 
that  they  were  one  in  faith  and  purpose  in  a  more  real 
sense  than  they  had  imagined.  At  three  in  the  after- 
noon. Rev.  Abel  Stevens,  of  New  York,  rose  to  propose 
an  alliance  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of 
the  world.  He  commenced  his  address  by  showing  the 
desirability  of  some  bond  of  union  between  the  different 
Associations,  its  influence  as  a  means  of  imparting 
mutual  strength  ;  its  value  as  the  expression  of  an  ines- 
timable truth,  the  sacred  unity  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  its  special  importance  to  America  as  removing  a 
stumbling  block  which  might  otherwise  cause  division 
amongst  the  Associations  on  that  continent.  It  was  in 
the  power  of  the  present  conference  to  accomplish  this 
work,  to  confer  one  of  the  greatest  boons  on  the  Asso- 
ciations, to  place  on  a  permanent  basis  the  work  to 
which  they  were  committed,  and  thus  to  unite  in  one 
confederation    the    various    Associations    which    they 


FORM. in  ox  OF  TIIF   WORLITS  ALLIANCE.       17-5 

represented."  Mr.  Stevens'  basis  of  union  contained 
five  articles :  First,  that  the  Associations  should  be 
managed  by  members  of  evangelical  churches.  Second, 
that  an  order  of  associate  members  should  be  admitted 
when  desired,  who  should  not  vote  or  hold  office.  Third 
(the  article  which  really  prompted  Mr.  vStevens'  reso- 
hition),  that  no  difference  of  opinion  on  points  not 
comprehended  in  the  immediate  aim  of  the  Association 
should  be  permitted  to  interrupt  their  harmony."  (The 
danger  to  the  American  Association  through  difference 
of  opinion  in  dealing  with  slavery  is  here  contemplated.) 
The  fourth  article  proposed  a  certificate  of  membership 
to  be  recognized  by  all  Associations,  and  the  fifth,  the 
system  of  correspondence  already  adopted.  Mr.  Stevens' 
address  was  listened  to  with  deep  interest  and  attention. 
As  he  concluded,  M.  Frederick  Monnier,  of  Strassburg, 
a  layman,  who  represented  an  energetic  Association  that 
had  a  numberof  University  students  in  its  membership, 
and  admitted  only  avowed  Christians,  rose  to  address 
the  Convention.  He  said  (p.  20) :  "  It  is  a  great  idea 
which  our  brother  from  America  has  just  placed  before 
us,  and  we  are  all  deeply  moved  by  its  consideration. 
It  is  only  because  we  feel  deeply  that  in  Christ  we  are 
one  and  from  this  arises  the  necessity  we  all  feel  to  give 
expression  to  this  intimate  union  of  faith.  It  is  not  ours 
at  this  moment  to  organize  a  union.  It  already  exists. 
Our  question  is  how  to  manifest  it  in  visible  form.  The 
first  article  in  the  proposition  from  our  Am.erican  broth- 
er would  not  be  applicable  in  Europe,  seeing  that  here 
we  have  evangelical  churches,  the  membership  of  which 
does  not  necessarily  imply  any  personal  profession.  In 
preference  to  the  basis  proposed  by  Mr.  Stevens,  I  would 
submit  the  following,  which  has  been  drawn  up  by  me 
in  conjunction  with  a  friend :  '  The  members  of  the 
Conference  feeling  that  they  are  one  in  principle  and  in 
work,  propose  to  their  respective  Associations  that  they 


176         YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

recognize  with  them  the  unity  thus  subsisting  between 
them,  and  that  whilst  preserving  a  complete  independ- 
ence in  their  particular  organizations,  they  form  one 
united  Association  on  this  general  principle.' 

*  The  Christian  Associations  have  for  their  object  the 
imion  of  those  young  men  who,  regarding  Jesus  Christ 
as  their  God  and  Saviour  according  to  the  Scriptures, 
desire  to  be  his  disciples  in  their  doctrine  and  in  theit 
life,  and  associate  their  efforts  for  the  extension  of  His 
Kingdom  amongst  young  men.'  " 

Mr.  Shipton  at  once  rose  to  suggest  that  in  place  of 
Mr,  Stevens'  first  article,  that  this  confession  of  faith 
proposed  by  M.  Monnier  be  adopted  as  *'  the  basis  of  tha 
Alliance,"  and  that  the  succeeding  propositions  be  con. 
sidered  separately.  Drs.  Diirselen  and  Traube,  of  Ger- 
many, most  warmly  supported  the  proposed  basis.  I\Ir. 
Tarlton  and  Mr.  Williams  united  in  approving  the  basis, 
because  '*  it  gave  sole  prominence  to  the  one  source  and 
characteristic  of  the  Christian  life — love  to  Christ,  and 
placed  the  Associations  on  the  one  only  foundation,^ 
Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified."  Mr.  Stevens  ex- 
pressed his  ready  assent  to  the  proposition.  He  rejoiced 
to  hear  the  accordance  of  other  voices  with  his  own. 
He  said :  "  A  solemn  act  is  this  in  which  we  are  en- 
gaged, and  one  of  which  the  after  consequences  cannot 
be  conceived.  The  spirit  of  God  is  not  withdrawn  from 
His  Church,  nor  from  the  assemblies  of  His  people. 
We  believe  we  are  under  His  guidance  in  the  work  to 
which  we  are  now  called,"  "  Before  Mr.  Stevens'  observa- 
tions, the  meeting,  deeply  impressed  with  the  import* 
ance  of  the  act  which  was  before  it,  joined  in  prayet 
to  supplicate  the  presence  of  the  Most  High,  and  to  enr 
treat  that  He  might  Himself  dictate  their  procedure." 
Then  the  revised  proposition  was  read  as  the  funda- 
mental  principle  of  the  Alliance  of  the  Young  ]\Ien'i. 
Christian   Associations,   the   meeting   all    standing,   \n 


FORMATION  OP'  Till-:   WORLD'S  ALLIANCE.        177 

which  position  it  was  then  solemnly  passed  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  whole  assembly.  The  members 
present  then  knelt  together,  gratefully  to  acknowledge 
the  mercy  of  God  and  to  entreat  His  benediction  on  the 
decision  at  which  they  had  arrived."  Thus  was  adopted 
the  Paris  Basis,  the  "  Apostle's  Creed  "  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  the  one  standard  express- 
ing simply  and  clearly  the  aim  and  the  faith  of  the 
movement. 

The  final  form  in  which  the  Paris  Basis  was  adopted 
is  as  follows  : 

"alliance  of  young  men's  chbistl\n  associations. 

The  delegates  of  various  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations of  Europe  and  America,  assembled  in  conference 
at  Paris  the  22d  of  August,  1855,  feeling  that  they  are 
one  in  principle  and  in  operation,  recommend  to  their 
respective  societies  to  recognize  with  them  the  unity 
existingamong  their  Associations,  and  whilst  preserving 
a  complete  independence  as  to  their  particular  organi- 
zations and  their  modes  of  action,  to  form  a  confedera- 
tion on  the  following  fundamental  principle,  such  prin- 
ciple to  be  regarded  as  the  basis  of  admission  of  other 
societies  in  the  future. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  seek  to  unite 
those  young  men  who,  regarding  Jesus  Christ  as  their 
God  and  Saviour  according  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  de- 
sire to  be  his  disciples  in  their  doctrine  and  in  their  life, 
and  to  associate  their  efforts  for  the  extension  of  His 
Kingdom  among  young  men.  This  fundamental  prin- 
ciple being  admitted,  the  Conference  further  proposes : 

First — That  any  difference  of  opinion  on  other  sub- 
jects, however  important  in  themselves,  but  not  em- 
braced by  the  specific  designs  of  the  Association,  shall 
not  interfere  with  the  harmonious  relations  of  the  con- 


1 73  VO  UNG  MEN 'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOC  I  A  TiON. 

federated  societies.  Second — That  a  traveling  certifi- 
cate of  membership  be  designed,  by  which  members  of 
the  confederated  societies  shall  be  entitled  to  the  privi- 
leges of  any  other  society  belonging  to  this  confedera- 
tion, and  to  the  personal  attention  of  all  its  members. 
Third — That  the  system  of  correspondence  adopted  by 
this  Conference  shall  apply  to  the  societies  of  this  con- 
federation." ^ 

This  basis  was  destined  to  be  adopted  by  all  the  As- 
sociations of  *he  world  as  at  once  the  bond  of  union,  the 
inspiration  to  cxideavor,  and  the  test  by  which  the  As- 
sociation offered  itself  to  the  judgment  of  mankind. 
The  remaining  articles  proposed  by  Mr.  Stevens  were 
considered  and  adopted,  with  the  exception  of  the  sec- 
ond. This  referred  to  the  admission  of  associate  mem- 
bers, and  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  local  Associations. 
We  have  dwelt  thus  at  length  upon  the  Paris  Conven- 
tion and  quoted  so  freely  from  the  reports  and  speeches 
because  this  Convention  marks  the  close  of  a  complete 
period  of  Association  history — the  launching  of  the 
Association  idea !  The  Paris  Convention,  and  espe- 
cially the  Paris  Basis,  had  a  remarkable  influence  in 
steadying  and  unifying  the  Association  movement. 
Methods  of  accomplishing  its  great  mission  were  still 
to  be  discovered,  financial  resources  and  the  adherence 
of  influential  members  were  yet  to  be  won,  the  magni- 
tude of  the  task  before  it  was  hardly  grasped,  but  the 
mission  and  bond  of  faith  of  the  Association  had  been 
clearly  stated,  never  to  be  recalled,  and  the  movement 
was  presented  as  a  definite  organization  before  the  world ! 
The  following  evening,  Thursday,  August  the  23d,  by 
invitation,  the  Conference  visited  the  Evangelical  Alli- 
ance, attended  by  1,200  delegates  from  all  Protestant 
lands.®     Mr.  Maximillian  Perot,  of  Geneva,  presented 

*  Paris  Report,  1S55,  p.  23. 

*  Second  Alliance  Report,  p.  35. 


FORMATION  OF  TIIF   WORLD'S  ALLIANCE.        ll'J 

a  paper  describing  the  '*  Rise,  Progress  and  Operations 
of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations."  Addresses  by 
George  H.  Stuart,  of  Philadelphia,  and  others  on  the 
basis  of  union  just  adopted  were  delivered  before  the 
Alliance.  The  Basis,  with  extracts  from  Mr.  Perot's 
paper,  was  published  in  the  Evangelical  Alliance  Re- 
port, and  thus  a  wider  publicity  was  given  to  the  Asso- 
ciation. 

On  Friday  afternoon,  August  24th,  the  delegates  met 
in  the  rooms  of  the  Paris  Association  for  their  farewell 
service.  It  was  an  impressive  hour.  Letters  were  read 
inviting  the  Conference  to  send  delegates  both  to  the 
American  Convention,  soon  to  be  held  at  Cincinnati, 
and  the  German  Conference,  which  had  been  announced 
for  September  the  9th  at  Elberfeld.  Parting  words 
were  uttered  by  delegates  from  each  of  the  countries 
represented.  Mr.  T.  H.  Gladstone  reminded  the  meet- 
ing of  how  different  a  scene  was  passing  in  Paris  on  that 
very  day  nearly  three  hundred  years  before,  and  ob- 
served, "  that  deep  emotions  of  gratitude  should  accom- 
pany the  reflection  that  the  24th  of  August,  1855, .was 
not  marked  by  a  St.  Bartholomew's  massacre,  but  was 
signalized  by  the  binding  together  of  a  holy  union,  and 
the  connecting  of  a  true  fellowship  of  sacred  affection 
between  representatives  of  the  Christian  young  men  of 
France,  Switzerland,  Germany,  Holland,  Britain  and 
America." 

Sec.  25. — Conclusion. 

The  founding  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion was  now  accomplished.  During  the  eleven  years, 
1844  to  1855,  the  spiritual  force  was  generated  which  dur- 
ing the  succeeding  decades  was  to  vitally  influence  the 
character  of  multitudes  of  young  men.  The  rise  of  the 
city  had  brought  the  young  men  of  the  Protestant  world 
under  new  conditions,  with  fierce    temptations.     The 


180  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

evangelistic  zeal  of  the  Protestant  Church  created  a  new 
movement  to  meet  these  conditions.  In  its  effort  to 
win  young  men  to  a  religious  life,  the  Association  was 
already  seeking  to  provide  intellectual  and  social  oppor- 
tunities. It  was  soon  to  set  before  itself  as  its  aim  the 
salvation  and  the  symmetrical  development  of  the  whole 
man — body,  soul  and  spirit. 

The  first  period  may  be  characterized  as  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Association  idea — the  extension  of  Christ's 
Kingdom  among  young  men  by  young  men!  In 
widely  separated  sections  of  the  world,  among  groups 
of  earnest  young  men  this  idea  had  taken  a  firm  hold, 
and  in  the  succeeding  periods  was  to  produce  great 
results. 

It  had  already  united  together  over  30,000  young  men, 
organized  in  329  different  societies,  into  a  World's  Alli- 
ance. It  had  influenced  the  lives  and  character  of  a  large 
number  of  young  men  of  the  commercial  class  in  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States,  and  of  the  working 
classes  of  Continental  Europe. 

It  held  up  a  new  ideal  of  union  to  Protestant  denomi- 
nations ;  not  through  creeds,  but  through  service.  It  was 
a  pioneer  in  Christian  work  by  laymen  and  of  organized 
work  by  young  people.  Above  all  this,  it  was  an  evan- 
gelistic force  which  aimed  at  the  regeneration  of  men. 

The  Association  was  a  new  assertion  in  a  practical 
form  of  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  deity  of 
Jesus  Christ.  In  Germany,  it  was  a  part  of  a  reaction 
against  Rationalism,  and  of  a  movement  which  was 
building  up  voluntary  agencies  as  suDplementary  to  the 
Established  Church. 

The  Association  had  introduced  a  new  institution 
into  society ;  it  had  rallied  a  new  social  force — Chris- 
tian young  men.  It  had  marshalled  them  into  an  or- 
ganization which  was  now  to  step  forth  and  take  its 
place  among  the  institutions  of  society. 


PART  II 
THE  CONFEDERATION  PERIOD 


PREFACE  FOR  PART  II 

The  history  of  an  organization  resembles  the  biog- 
raphy of  an  individual.  The  value  of  each  consists  not 
only  in  the  character  and  work  of  the  organization 
or  individual,  but  chiefly  in  the  relation  of  each  to  life 
as  a  whole.  The  historian  of  a  movement  like  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  confronted 
with  a  perplexing  multiplicity  of  events  and  he  must 
have  a  principle  of  selection.  I  have  tried  from  al- 
most a  chaos  to  select  those  incidents  which  begot 
the  future.  If  I  have  failed,  I  must  beg  the  indulgence 
of  my  reader,  as  I  have  spared  neither  thought  nor 
industry.  Events  are  like  children  in  a  large  family. 
It  is  only  those  members  who  are  to  render  important 
service  to  the  world  in  later  life  whose  childhood 
story  is  significant;  some  of  them  make  no  contribu- 
tion, others  do  not  make  a  stir  until  late  in  their 
careers.  For  this  reason  new  developments  require 
the  rewriting  of  history.  The  events  and  personages 
are  the  same,  but  they  had  an  unsuspected  meaning. 
A  revaluation  is  necessar3\ 

Recent  progress  has  made  this  particularly  true  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  The  world 
has  wondered  where  this  unheeded  organization  came 
from,  w^here  it  got  its  ideals  and  methods,  why  it  had 
so  much  enterprise  and  such  great  success  with  the 
armies,  why  it  had  the  limitations  it  exhibited  and 
made  the  blunders  it  did.  What  is  its  future  and  what 
function  has  it  in  the  new  world  order? 

I  am  under  great  obligation  to  Jacob  T.  Bowne, 
librarian  of  the  International  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  Collesre.     Mr.  Bowne  established  the  his- 


186  PREFACE 

torical  library  of  Association  publications  which  bears 
his  name.  Without  this  library  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  assemble  the  data  necessary  for  the 
reconstruction  of  this  period. 

The  manuscript  has  been  submitted  to  several  of 
my  associates  on  the  faculty;  also  to  Richard  C. 
Morse  and  Paul  Super.  I  have  asked  Robert  E. 
Lewis,  General  Secretary  of  the  Cleveland  Associa- 
tion, to  make  such  comments  in  footnotes  as  he  may 
see  fit.  I  hardly  need  add  that  no  one  except  myself 
is  responsible  for  the  point  of  view  expressed  in  this 
monograph. 

L.  L.  D. 
Mav,  1922. 


CONTENTS  FOR  PART  II 

CHArTER    I 

THE  AMERICAN   CONFEDERATTON  ^    ^^ 

PAGE 

Sec.  26. — Political  Developments 190 

Sec.  27. — Moral  and  Religious  Divisions  over  Slavery      .      .     .  193 

Sec.  28. — Industrial  and  Economic  Developments 211 

Sec.  29. — Problems  of  the  Confederation 217 

Chapter  II 

THE  LEADERS  WHO  MOULDED  THE  THOUGHT  AND  LIFE  OF  THE 
CONFEDERATION 

Sec.  30. — William  Chauncy  Langdon 218 

Sec.  31. — Zalmon  Richards 230 

Sec.  32.— William  J.  Rhecs 232 

Sec.  33.— William  H.  Neff 238 

Sec.  34. — Samuel  Lovi'ry,  Jr 239 

Sec.  35.— H.  Thane  Miller 242 

Sec.  36.— George  H.  Stuart 244 

Sec.  Zl . — Hovi^ard  Crosby 250 

Sec.  38. — Richard  C.  McCormick 252 

Chapter  III 

THE  FIRST  INTERNATIONAL  ADMINISTR.\TION 

Sec.  39.— Events  of  the  Period 254 

Sec.  40. — The  Washington  Administration 256 

Chapter  IV 

LATER  .ADMINISTRATIONS 

Sec.  41. — The  Second  Central  Committee 271 

Sec.  42. — Third  Central  Committee 278 

Sec.  43.— A  Repudiated  Leader 288 

Sec.  44. — Student  Associations 299 

Sec.  45. — Administration  of  the  Fourth  Central  Committee  .      .  305 


188  CONTENTS 

Chapter  V 

INTERRELATIONS   WITH  EUROPE 

PAGE 

Sec.  46. — Foreign  Relations  Previous  to  1857 310 

Sec.  47. — Langdon's  European  Tour,  1857 321 

Sec.  48.— Foreign  Relations,  1858-1861 329 

Chapter  V'I 

THE  BRITISH   ASSOCIATIONS,   1855-1861 

Sec.  49. — George  Hitchcock 336 

Sec.  50. — George  Williams 337 

Sec.  51.— T.  Henry  Tarlton 341 

Sec.  52.— W.  Edwyn  Shipton 342 

Chapter  VII 

THE  ASSOCIATIONS  ON  THE  CONTINENT  OF  EUROPE,  1855-1861 

Sec.  53. — The  French  and  Swiss  Associations 354 

Sec.  54. — The  Associations  in  Germany 364 

Sec.  55. — The  Geneva  Convention,  1858 368 

Chapter  VIII 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PERIOD 

Characteristics  of  the  Period i72> 

APPENDICES 

Appendix  I  for  Part  I 389 

Appendix  II  for  Part  I 392 

BIBLIOGRAPHV 

Bibliography  for  Part  II 399 

INDEX 

Index 401 


THE  CONFEDERATION  PERIOD 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION 

It  is  our  purpose  in  the  coming  chapters  to  discuss 
the  development  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation during  the  critical  years  from  1855  to  1861. 

The  leadership  of  the  movement  was  §oon  to  be 
transferred  to  the  American  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The 
American  Associations  were  seeking  to  find  them- 
selves in  a  new  country  which  during  this  pre-Civil- 
War  period  reached  a  point  of  economic  prosperity 
previously  unequalled  and  then  saw  that  prosperity 
overwhelmed  with  dire  disaster.  The  Confederation, 
as  it  was  then  called,  existed  during  a  period  of  six 
years,  torn  by  political  strife  over  slavery  and  agitated 
by  the  threat  of  approaching  civil  war.  The  decade 
before  the  Civil  War  saw  the  economic  and  industrial 
transition  to  modern  conditions.  It  was  a  period 
during  which  the  churches  were  divided  sectionally 
over  slavery  and  during  which  the  agitation  of  this 
issue  produced  a  great  moral  enthusiasm  in  the 
North.  This,  combined  with  the  serious  frame  of 
mind  resulting  from  the  financial  collapse  of  1857, 
produced  the  most  stirring  and  far-reaching  religious 
revival  the  country  had  ever  experienced — a  revival 
in  which  at  its  inception  in  New  York  City  the  Asso- 
ciation was  the  leading  factor  and  in  the  promotion  of 


190  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

which  the  Associations  of  the  country  were  the  chief 
agents. 

It  is  necessary  to  examine  very  briefly  the  Hfe  of 
the  nation  during  these  six  years  in  order  to  under- 
stand the  problem  of  our  organization  which  was 
gradually  awakening  to  national  self-consciousness. 

Could  a  religious  movement  inaugurated  and  pro- 
moted by  laymen  endure?  Could  such  an  organiza- 
tion find  a  needed  sphere  of  service?  Could  it  clearly 
define  its  own  mission  and  also  have  the  power  of 
consecutive  service  necessary  for  fruitful  success?  It 
is  true  that  this  experience  demonstrated  the  insufifi- 
ciency  of  volunteer  leadership  unaided  by  employed 
ofificers  and  revealed  by  the  method  of  "trial  and 
error"  many  things  the  Association  should  not  at- 
tempt. But  it  did  show  how  volunteers  can  have  a 
wide  vision,  can  cooperate  in  a  sensible  and  unselfish 
manner,  and  can  be  depended  upon  to  arrive  ulti- 
mately, even  though  instinctively,  unerringly  at  the 
right  decision.  While  wrong  decisions  were  reached 
at  many  conventions  of  the  Confederation,  the  imme- 
diate matters  of  chief  importance  were  always  settled 
right.  This  chapter  is  a  triumph  for  democracy.  The 
Confederation  was  always  sound  on  the  great  ques- 
tion of  the  founding  of  the  international  alliance  of 
the  American  Associations  and  it  is  because  this  was 
accomplished  in  the  manner  it  was  that  the  Associa- 
tions of  all  time  are  indebted  to  Langdon  and  the 
young  men  of  1855-1861. 


Sec.  26. — Political  Developments 

The  years  from  1855  to  1861  were  dominated  in  the 
nation  at  large  by  the  struggle  between  the  pro- 
slavery  forces  of  the  South  and  the  anti-slavery  forces 
of  the  North.  Friends  of  the  South  in  the  North  and 
many  persons  in  the  North  who  feared  the  disruption 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  191 

of  the  Union  opposed  all  anti-slavery  measures  and 
deprecated  anti-slavery  agitation.  But  gradually  and 
irresistibly  the  North  became  united  in  its  opposition 
to  the  extension  of  slavery  and  the  South  l)ecame 
"solid"  in  its  determination  to  defend  to  the  utter- 
most its  peculiar  institution.  Step  by  step  the  con- 
flict developed  until  the  one  side  came  to  look  upon 
the  slave  as  property,  and  the  other,  having  less 
pecuniary  interest  at  stake,  looked  upon  the  slave  as 
a  man.  During  the  six  years  which  preceded  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  War  the  question  of  slavery  de- 
termined every  election  of  importance,  state  or  na- 
tional. It  also  dominated  every  significant  act  passed 
by  Congress  and  every  step  taken  by  the  national 
Administration. 

The  first  American  convention  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  when  it  met  at  Buffalo  in  1854 
had  a  young  man  from  Kentucky  as  its  most  influen- 
tial leader.  The  election  of  Mr,  Helme  of  New  Or- 
leans as  president  of  the  convention  was  a  guarantee 
that  slavery  should  not  be  discussed,  but  the  introduc- 
tion of  an  anti-slavery  resolution  by  the  one  delegate 
present  from  Canada  showed  how  difficult  it  was  to 
smother  this  issue  even  in  a  small  gathering  of  thirty- 
seven  young  men  who  had  met  for  a  national,  altruis- 
tic purpose. 

The  historic  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820  had 
been  accepted  in  the  North  as  a  sacred  pledge  that 
slavery  would  never  be  extended  north  of  36  de- 
grees 30  minutes  latitude.  For  thirty  years  this 
agreement  had  maintained  peace  between  the  two 
sections  and  preserved  the  Union. 

The  annexation  of  the  great  territory  of  Texas  and 
the  Mexican  W'ar  undertaken  at  the  behest  of  the 
slavery  leaders  to  extend  slave  territory  reawakened 
the  slumbering  apprehension  in  the  North.  The  bill 
admitting  Texas  provided  that  it  might  be  divided 


192  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

into  four  states.  As  each  of  these  would  have  two 
senators,  there  would  be  eight  votes  added  to  the 
strength  of  the  "solid  South"  in  the  Senate.  In  1850 
Clay  and  Webster  engineered  the  second  great  com- 
promise on  the  slavery  issue.  The  North,  for  the  sake 
of  peace  and  union,  accepted  the  ignoble  fugitive  slave 
law.  The  South  agreed  that  the  partition  of  Texas 
should  be  postponed.  California  was  admitted  as  a 
free  state.  The  region  intervening  between  Texas 
and  California,  then  called  New  Mexico,  was  or- 
ganized as  a  territory  without  the  "Wilmot  proviso" 
against  slavery. 

Peace  between  the  two  sections  seemed  restored, 
but  the  "irrepressible  conflict"  was  only  delayed  a  few 
brief  years.  With  scarcely  a  note  of  warning  Senator 
Douglas,  in  his  hope  of  securing  the  support  of  the 
South  for  his  presidential  aspirations,  threw  the  whole 
question  again  into  the  caldron  of  discussion  by  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  bill. 

This  bill  provided  that  the  power  of  Congress  to 
decide  on  the  extension  of  slavery  into  new  territories 
be  abrogated  and  that  the  question  be  left  for  "local 
sovereignty"  to  determine.  Thus  the  whole  question 
of  slavery  extension  was  to  be  decided  by  the  party 
which  could  muster  the  most  votes  at  the  time  of  the 
adoption  of  a  constitution  by  a  new  state.  This  was 
the  most  important  political  step  in  fomenting  the 
bitter  anti-slavery  agitation  between  1855-1861.  It 
showed  that  the  South  was  determined  to  extend 
slavery.  It  brought  on  the  struggle  over  Kansas,  led 
to  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party,  the  unify- 
ing of  the  North  against  slavery,  and  the  election  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  presidency. 

Jefferson  Davis,  who  was  the  leader  of  the  extreme 
slave  party  in  the  Senate,  maintained  not  only  the 
doctrine  of  Calhoun  that  the  Constitution  permitted 
slavery  in  the  territories,  but  went  further  and  de- 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  193 

iiiaiulcd  that  slave  owners  were  entitled  t(j  the  pro- 
tection of  their  property  in  new  territories  belonging 
to  the  national  government.  He  did  not  hesitate  on 
July  6,  1860,  at  the  Democratic  State  Convention  of 
Mississippi  to  declare,  "In  the  contingency  of  the 
election  of  a  President  on  the  platform  of  Air. 
Seward's  Rochester  speech,  let  the  Union  be  dis- 
solved." ("History  of  the  U.  S.,"  Rhodes,  Vol.  H, 
p.  Z7Z.) 

By  1860  there  was  also  a  pronounced  agitation  in 
the  South  for  the  revival  of  the  African  slave  trade. 

These  political  questions  filled  the  minds  of  the 
young  men  and  their  advisers  who  were  active  in  the 
work  of  the  Young  Alen's  Christian  Association, 
They  were  of  especial  moment  to  those  who  wished 
the  organization  to  become  not  a  local  but  a  national 
movement. 

Sec.  27. — Moral  and  Religious  Divisions  over  Slavery 

But  even  more  than  the  political,  the  moral  issue 
raised  by  slavery  was  a  challenge  to  any  organization 
which  bore  the  name  of  Christian.  The  publication 
of  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  by  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe 
synchronized  wn'th  the  establishment  of  the  New 
York  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  1852. 
The  fugitive  slave  law  of  1850  had  aroused  the  sym- 
pathy of  many  Christian  people  in  the  North,  and 
"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  "was  an  outburst  of  passion 
against  a  wrong  done  to  a  race."  ("History  of  U.  S.," 
Rhodes,  Vol.  I,  p.  279.)  Three  hundred  thousand 
copies  were  sold  the  first  year  of  its  appearance  and 
the  sale  soon  reached  a  million  and  a  half  copies.  The 
book  was  dramatized  and  translated  into  twenty 
languages. 

(Report  of  Investigating  Committee  of  New  York 
City  Association,  1857,  p.  7.) 

In   1853  the  librarv  committee  of  the   New  York 


194  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

Association  aroused  considerable  stir  by  excluding  as 
the  report  states  "a  book  called  'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin.'  " 
This  controversy  led  to  a  careful  definition  of  the 
powers  of  the  library  committee.  Its  action,  however, 
was  sustained,  a  vote  by  the  board  being  passed  as 
follows,  "Resolved  that  the  library  committee  have 
power  to  exclude  from  the  library  such  books  as  in 
their  judgment  are  improper."  An  effort  was  made 
at  the  next  meeting  of  the  board  to  require  the  library 
committee  "to  report  all  works  excluded  and  a  state- 
ment of  their  reasons  for  such  exclusion."  This 
motion  was  laid  on  the  table  and  the  young  men  of 
the  New  York  Association  were  protected  from  the 
influence  of  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe's  volume.  The 
fatherly  and  sheltering  practice  of  the  leaders  at  this 
time  is  indicated  in  the  president's  report  for  1853 
where  he  says:  "It  is  not  deemed  proper  that  this 
library  should  contain  all  works  from  the  press. 
Theories  and  opinions  of  every  shade  are  freely 
spread  upon  the  printed  page — so  that  youth  is  com- 
pelled to  pass  an  ordeal  which,  though  it  may  possibly 
strengthen  and  expand  the  mind  of  a  few,  will  prove 
fatal  to  others."  Out  of  1,009  volumes  383  were  listed 
as  "moral  and  religious  works"  and  the  chairman  of 
the  library  committee  remarks  reluctantly,  "\Miile  it 
has  been  our  determination  to  exclude  novels  and 
romances,  we  have  felt  it  incumbent  on  us  to  admit, 
to  some  extent,  works  of  fiction  acknowledged  to  be 
of  a  sound  moral  and  religious  character." 

Anti-slavery  sentiment  evidently  developed  in  the 
New  York  Association  until  it  was  the  attitude  of  the 
dominant  element  of  the  members.  Discussion  over 
this  issue  reduced  and  nearly  disrupted  the  organiza- 
tion. While  the  New  York  Association  never  yielded 
to  the  attempts  of  some  of  the  zealous  members  to 
secure  the  passage  of  resolutions  denouncing  slavery, 
nevertheless   the    agitation   lost    to    the   Association 


TIIR  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  195 

financial  support  and  the  sympathy  of  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  community.  The  conservative  ele- 
ment, which  was  made  up  of  many  ("Life  of  Mc- 
Burney,"  pp.  40-41)  of  the  leading  young  men  in 
business  circles  in  the  city,  to  the  number  of  150,  de- 
cided to  withdraw  in  a  body.  Their  resignations  were 
all  signed  to  one  paper;  but  the  other  party  learned 
of  this  effort  of  the  "dough-faces"  and  created  not  a 
little  surprise  when  the  resignations  were  presented 
by  announcing  a  list  equally  long  of  new  applicants 
for  membership.  The  young  men  who  withdrew 
were,  however,  more  influential  and  the  prosperity  of 
the  New  York  Association  seriously  declined. 

The  character  of  the  agitation  can  be  seen  from  the 
following  incidents  recorded  in  a  report  of  twenty- 
four  printed  pages  issued  in  1857  by  a  special  "inves- 
tigating committee"  appointed  by  the  members  of  the 
New  York  Association  to  investigate  the  action  of  the 
board  of  directors  in  expelling  the  committee  on 
rooms  and  library  which  occurred  after  a  number  of 
stormy  meetings. 

In  the  summer  of  1856  a  number  of  the  Associa- 
tion members  ("Life  of  AIcBurney,"  p.  40)  were 
active  in  the  Fremont  campaign  and  figured  in  a  pro- 
cession given  that  summer. 

(These  statements  are  based  on  notes  taken  by  the 
author  in  an  interview  with  Cephas  Brainerd  in 
1901.)  "This  procession  was  savagely  caricatured  by 
the  New  York  Express,  a  rather  violent  political 
organ.  The  chairman  of  the  library  committee,  Mr. 
George  P.  Edgar,  excluded  the  Express  from  the 
rooms  of  the  Association  in  August,  1856.  This  was 
done  simply  by  stopping  the  subscription  which 
caused  no  trouble ;  but  the  ground  of  the  action  be- 
came noised  about  and  the  Express  began  an  attack 
on  the  Association  as  a  political  organization.  Mr. 
Edgar  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  other  members, 


196  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

replied  through  the  cohimns  of  the  Post.  During 
December,  1856,  and  January,  1857,  a  heated  news- 
paper controversy  was  waged.  The  board  of  direc- 
tors voted  to  expel  the  library  committee  and  to  re- 
turn the  Express  to  the  Association  reading  rooms.  A 
committee  of  the  Association  appointed  to  investigate 
the  affair,  after  extended  and  animated  hearings,  re- 
ported that  the  library  committee  had  not  been  fairly 
dealt  with  and  asked  for  the  resignation  of  the  entire 
board  of  directors." 

(Langdon,  "Early  Story  of  the  Confederation," 
Year  Book,  1888,  p.  21.) 

Langdon  relates  at  the  first  public  anniversary  of 
the  Washington  Association,  July,  1852:  "We  were 
addressed  by  a  Southerner,  the  Hon.  Robert  M. 
Charlton,  United  States  Senator  from  Georgia.  On 
the  next  public  occasion  it  was  therefore  necessary  to 
invite  a  Northerner  and  accordingly  the  Hon.  Robert 
C.  Winthrop  of  Boston  was  asked  for  the  December 
following.  We  were  forced  to  consider  national  prej- 
udices and  even  politics  in  everything.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  board  of  managers,  September  27,  one  of  our 
Southern  members — to  quote  my  diary — 'threw  a 
firebrand  among  us  by  an  attempt  to  expel  the  Na- 
tional Era,  an  abolition  newspaper,  from  our  reading 
rooms.  The  bringing  in  of  politics  was  most  desper- 
ately opposed  by  "several  of  us"  and  the  casus  belli 
was  laid  on  the  table  for  the  present.'  " 

While  the  slavery  issue  was  a  menace  to  the  in- 
ternal development  of  local  Associations  with  a  di- 
vided meml)ership  like  those  of  Washington  and  New 
York,  it  was  a  still  greater  obstacle  in  the  pathway 
of  an  international  organization.  Langdon  stated 
(1855  Report,  p.  74)  in  his  report  to  the  Second  An- 
nual Convention  that  the  Baltimore  Association 
"earnestly  requests  that  the  Convention  be  assured 
that  it  is  not  from  the  want  of  the  most  sincere  and 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  197 

thoroug-h  Christian  syiiipalhy  and  affection  toward 
the  cause  in  which  their  brethren  are  engaged  that 
they  withhold  their  participation  therein,  but  from 
the  beHef,  founded  on  reasons  elaborately  urged  in 
the  report,  that  permanent  harmony  cannot  be  se- 
cured from  the  elements  of  which  the  Confederation 
is  composed." 

The  opposition  of  Howard  Crosby,  president  of  the 
New  York  Association,  has  been  mentioned  in  our 
discussion  of  the  founding  of  the  early  Associations. 
(See  Vol.  I,  p.  132.)  He  did  not  believe  a  national 
organization  could  be  established. 

Through  his  influence  the  New  York  City  Associa- 
tion refused  to  enter  the  Confederation.  It  was  un- 
willing to  take  its  natural  place  of  leadership  as  the 
largest  Association  in  the  country.  (New  York  City 
Report,  1854,  p.  11.) 

The  New  Orleans  Association  in  a  letter  to  the  Con- 
vention held  at  Cincinnati  in  1855  writes  (Cincinnati 
Convention  Report,  1855,  p.  51)  :  "As  a  band  of  Chris- 
tians, as  friends,  and  as  countrymen  you  have  been 
called  together  and  are  therefore  prepared  no  doubt  to 
yield  private  opinions  for  the  general  good.  Differ- 
ences must  of  course  exist,  but  they  need  not  mar  the 
peace  of  the  body.  Let  each  forget  for  the  time  his 
sectional  prejudices  and  legislate  for  the  good  of  the 
whole.  Then  will  the  croaking  of  our  enemies  be 
silenced." 

On  the  other  hand,  in  Associations  in  sections 
where  strong  abolition  sentiments  prevailed  there  was 
a  growing  determination  not  to  compromise  on  the 
slavery  issue.  Many  believed  they  would  sacrifice 
their  Christian  principles  by  fellowshipping  with  any 
religious  organization  which  was  silent  on  this  issue. 

Speaking  of  the  first  Convention  at  Buffalo  in  1854, 
Langdon  relates:  "Mr.  Holland  of  Toronto  offered 
a  resolution  which   illustrated  the  ground  of  oppo- 


198  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

sition  to  the  Convention.  It  was  to  the  effect  that 
'as  in  Christ  Jesus  there  is  neither  bound  nor  free,' 
therefore  that  all  young  men  'of  whatever  degree 
or  condition  in  life'  be  invited  to  an  equal  partici- 
pation in  the  advantages  of  the  Association.  This 
resolution  was  without  debate  referred  to  the  busi- 
ness committee  and  not  reported.  It  was  at  that  time 
the  only  course  which  could  possibly  have  been  taken. 
As  long  as  slavery  existed,  certain  social  results  fol- 
lowed. The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
neither  could  deal  nor  did  it  propose  to  deal  with  the 
institution  itself.  To  what  practical  purpose  were 
any  resolutions  of  protest  or  nonrecognition  of  those 
social  results?  At  the  adjournment  the  president, 
Mr.  Helme  of  New  Orleans,  frankly  admitted  that 
great  fears  had  been  entertained  that  the  Convention 
would  be  the  scene  of  wrangling  and  strife,  that  sec- 
tional questions  would  be  agitated.  Had  the  Holland 
resolution  been  admitted  to  debate  these  fears  would 
have  been  realized,  that  they  were  not  is  the  more 
remarkable  in  such  a  body  of  Northern  young  men." 

But  this  lack  of  action  at  the  Convention  did  not 
satisfy  the  Toronto  Association.  This  Association  at 
first  approved  the  founding  of  the  Confederation  and 
then  sought  to  induce  the  Central  Committee  to  take 
a  stand  against  slavery. 

The  great  task  confronting  Langdon  and  the 
newly  appointed  "Central  Committee"  was  to  secure 
enough  Associations  as  members  of  the  proposed 
Confederation  to  establish  it  authoritatively.  They 
found  the  slavery  issue  their  chief  obstacle  and  were 
compelled  to  take  action  announcing  their  policy. 
("Early  Story  of  the  Confederation,"  Year  Book, 
1888,  pp.  36-37.)  The  Association  at  Toronto  through 
its  corresponding  secretary,  C.  R.  Brooks,  addressed 
the  Central  Committee  on  this  subject.  Brooks 
was  also  the  Canadian  representative  on  the  Central 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  199 

Committee.  lie  proposed  that  the  Central  Commit- 
tee incorporate  in  the  organic  law  of  the  Associations 
some  provisions  recognizing  the  rights  of  Christian 
slaves  to  become  members  of  the  Association  "as  a 
principle  which  should  be  adopted  as  fundamental  by 
any  Confederation  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations." Brooks  stated  that  the  Toronto  Asso- 
ciation had  ratified  the  resolution  to  join  the  Confed- 
eration only  by  a  small  majority  and  "in  the  hope  that 
when  the  Central  Committee  should  adopt  a  constitu- 
tion, some  such  principle  would  be  pro])osed  to  the 
Associations  as  a  test  of  their  connection  with  one 
another." 

"The  Southern  Associations  on  the  other  hand 
were  equally  sensitive  of  anything  which  would  re- 
flect on  the  Christian  principle  with  which  they  con- 
formed to  the  social  and  political  conditions  under 
which  they  were  constituted  and  under  which  alone 
of  course  they  could  do  their  work.  Some  of  these 
therefore  were  unwilling  to  expose  themselves  to 
having  these  principles  called  to  question — as  for  in- 
stance:  Baltimore,  Charleston,  and  indeed  the  Asso- 
ciation at  New  Orleans  also." 

The  Central  Committee  accordingly  issued  a  cir- 
cular on  November  18,  1854,  stating  that  the  Central 
Committee  (Cincinnati  Convention  Report,  1855,  p. 
105)  was  "not  a  ruling  power,  but  an  agent"  through 
which  the  local  Associations  might  act  and  that  it  had 
no  power  whatever  to  adopt  a  constitution  for  the 
Confederation. 

Toronto  and  Providence  at  once  withdrew.  The 
Pittsburgh  Association  wrote  that  they  would  send 
delegates  to  the  Cincinnati  Convention  only  on  the 
condition  "that  they  should  be  free  to  bear  their  con- 
scientious testimony  against  what  they  believed  to  be 
a  national  sin." 

Langdon  decided  to  stand  firm  on  the  position  that 


200  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

it  was  not  the  province  of  the  Central  Committee  to 
pass  on  the  slavery  issue. 

The  question  of  the  autonomy  of  the  local  Associa- 
tion was  also  involved. 

Five  additional  Associations  refused  to  enter  the 
Confederation — Portland,  Maine;  Boston;  Brooklyn; 
Detroit,  and  Nashville. 

The  slavery  issue  even  appeared  at  the  World's 
Convention  held  at  Paris  in  1855.  Through  the  re- 
quest of  the  American  delegate,  Rev.  Abel  Stevens  of 
New  York  City,  a  resolution  was  adopted  as  a  part 
of  the  Paris  Basis,  which  after  referring  to  the  faith 
and  object  of  the  Associations  states:  "That  any 
differences  of  opinion  on  other  subjects,  however  im- 
portant in  themselves,  but  not  embraced  in  the 
specific  designs  of  the  Associations,  shall  not  inter- 
fere with  the  harmonious  relations  of  the  Confed- 
erated Societies." 

How  interwoven  with  the  life  of  its  times  is  any 
vital  organization!  This  simple  society  for  the  spirit- 
ual welfare  of  young  men  made  necessary  by  the  new 
urban  conditions  which  industry  was  creating  found 
itself  even  before  it  could  realize  its  corporate  exist- 
ence tossed  on  the  waves  of  political  strife  and  social 
unrest. 

As  the  controversy  over  slavery  waxed  more  in- 
tense so  the  difficulties  of  the  national  organization 
increased.  It  is  no  wonder  when  one  considers  the 
experience  of  the  different  denominations  that  Asso- 
ciation leaders  despaired  of  creating  a  national  or- 
ganization and  it  is  a  proof  of  Langdon's  statesman- 
ship that  one  was  successfully  established. 

In  1850  the  churches  were  already  divided  on  this 
issue.  In  the  Senate  Calhoun  said:  ''The  cords  that 
bind  the  States  together  are  not  only  many  but  vari- 
ous in  character.  Some  are  spiritual  or  ecclesiastical; 
some  political,  others  social.    The  strongest  are  those 


Tllli  AM  ERIC  A  \'  CONFEDERATION  201 

of  a  religious  nature,  l)Ut  lliey  have  begun  to  snap. 
The  great  ]\Iethodist  Episcopal  Church  has  divided. 
There  is  a  Methodist  Church  North  and  a  Methodist 
Church  South  and  they  are  hostile.  The  Protestant 
organization  next  in  size,  the  I>ai)tist  Church,  has 
likewise  fallen  asunder.  The  cord  which  binds  the 
Presbyterian  Church  is  not  entirely  snapped,  but 
some  of  its  strands  have  given  way."  ("History  of 
U.  S.,"  Rhodes,  Vol.  I,  p.  128.) 

In  1854  during  its  passage  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
act  had  called  out  a  petition  of  protest  to  Congress 
which  was  signed  by  Rev.  Stephen  H.  Tyng  of  New 
York,  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  New  York 
Association  and  a  delegate  to  the  Paris  Convention 
of  1855,  by  Rev.  G.  T.  Bedell,  and  Chancellor  Isaac 
Ferris,  both  of  wdiom  attended  and  addressed  the 
meeting  at  which  the  New  York  Association  was  or- 
ganized (1852),  and  by  Rev.  Theo.  L.  Cuyler,  w^ho 
was  the  most  active  clergyman  in  New  York  in  sup- 
porting the  work  of  the  Association. 

Rev.  Lyman  Beecher  of  Boston  joined  in  a  similar 
protest  signed  by  3,050  out  of  3,800  clergymen  of 
New  England.  Mr.  Beecher  had  delivered  the  address 
at  the  founding  of  the  Boston  Association  and  was 
one  of  the  four  clergymen  upon  whose  advice  the 
evangelical  church  basis  for  active  membership  was 
adopted  by  the  Boston  society. 

This  petition  was  couched  in  strong  language. 
("History  of  U.  S.,"  Rhodes,  Vol.  I,  p.  478.)  It  said : 
"The  undersigned  clergymen  of  different  religious 
denominations  in  New  England,  hereby  in  the  name 
of  Almighty  God  and  in  his  presence  do  solemnly  pro- 
test against  the  passage  of  what  is  known  as  the  Ne- 
braska bill.  .  .  .  Wo.  protest  against  it  as  a  great  moral 
wrong,  as  a  breach  of  faith  eminently  unjust  to  the 
moral  principles  of  the  community  and  subversive  of 
all  confidence  in  national  engagements;  as  a  measure 


202  YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

full  of  danger  to  the  peace  and  even  the  existence  of 
our  beloved  Union  and  exposing  us  to  the  righteous 
judgments  of  the  Almighty." 

("History  of  U.  S.,"  Rhodes,  Vol.  II,  p.  152.)  The 
Kansas-Nebraska  bill  of  1854  which  permitted  slavery 
in  a  new  territory,  but  left  it  for  the  people  to  decide 
whether  the  territory  upon  becoming  a  state  should 
exclude  or  permit  slavery,  brought  on  the  armed  con- 
flict over  slavery  in  Kansas.  The  North  hastened  into 
Kansas  settlers  who  favored  freedom.  These  men 
were  armed  with  "Sharp's  rifles,"  then  considered 
superior  weapons.  The  slavery  leaders  of  the  South 
in  a  similar  manner  sent  armed  representatives  to  the 
debated  territory.  Early  in  1856  Buford's  battalion 
of  280  armed  men  assembled  at  Montgomery,  Ala- 
bama, in  the  Baptist  Church.  "The  Methodist  minis- 
ter solemnly  invoked  the  divine  blessing  on  the  enter- 
prise. The  Baptist  pastor  gave  Buford  a  finely  bound 
Bible  and  said  that  a  subscription  had  been  raised  to 
present  each  emigrant  with  a  copy  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. ...  A  distinguished  citizen  made  an  address, 
saying,  'on  them  rested  the  future  welfare  of  the 
South ;  they  were  armed  with  the  Bible,  a  weapon 
more  potent  than  Sharp's  rifles.'  " 

Mr.  Rhodes  in  his  history  of  this  period  further 
states  (Vol.  II,  p.  153)  :  "The  most  warlike  demon- 
stration and  one  which  excited  the  greatest  attention, 
was  at  New  Haven,  Conn.  Charles  B.  Lines,  a  deacon 
of  a  New  Haven  Congregational  Church,  had  enlisted 
a  company  of  seventy-nine  emigrants.  A  meeting 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds  was  held  in  the  church 
shortly  before  their  departure.  Many  clergymen 
and  many  of  the  Yale  College  faculty  were  present. 
The  leader  of  the  party  said  that  Sharp's  rifles  were 
lacking,  and  that  they  were  needed  for  self-defense. 
After  an  earnest  address  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  the 
subscription  began.   Professor  Silliman  started  it  with 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  203 

one  Sharp's  rifle ;  the  pastor  of  the  church  gave  the 
second;  other  gentlemen  and  some  ladies  followed 
their  example.  As  fifty  was  the  number  wanted, 
Beecher  said  that  if  twenty-five  were  pledged  on  the 
spot,  Plymouth  Church  would  furnish  the  rest.  The 
number  of  rifles  wanted  was  subscribed.  Previous  to 
this  meeting  Beecher  had  declared  that  for  the  slave 
holders  of  Kansas  the  Sharp's  rifle  was  a  greater  moral 
agency  than  the  Bible  and  from  that  time  the  favorite 
arms  of  the  Northern  emigrants  became  known  as 
"Beecher's  Bibles."  The  anti-slavery  tide  rose  higher 
and  higher  in  the  North  and  the  determination  to 
maintain  slavery  even  to  the  point  of  secession 
strengthened  in  the  South.  The  difficulties  of  pre- 
serving the  unity  of  the  Confederation  increased.  The 
Southern  Associations  were  given  every  considera- 
tion. The  International  Convention  was  held  in  1857 
at  Richmond,  in  1858  at  Charleston,  in  1860  at  New 
Orleans,  and  the  one  for  1861  was  scheduled  for  St. 
Louis.  At  the  New  Orleans  Convention  W.  F.  Mun- 
ford  of  Richmond  was  chosen  president.  The  attend- 
ance of  delegates  at  these  conventions  was  larger 
from  the  South  than  from  the  North.  The  Central 
Committee  for  1860  was  located  at  Richmond.  The 
Association  at  New  Orleans  issued  a  magazine  which 
circulated  widely  among  other  Associations. 

Affectionate  greetings  and  interchange  of  good  fel- 
lowship neutralized  to  a  degree  feelings  of  antago- 
nism, but  these  could  not  alter  the  fact  of  a  widening 
divergence  of  conviction.  At  the  Montreal  Conven- 
tion the  delegates  were  given  a  reception  on  the  top 
of  Mount  Royal.  At  Richmond  an  entire  day  was 
spent  in  an  excursion  into  the  surrounding  country, 
and  at  Troy,  in  1859,  the  largest  convention  of  this 
period,  the  nearly  300  delegates  were  taken  in  a  body 
by  the  Troy  Association  to  Saratoga  Springs,  where 
a  dinner  with  post-prandial  speeches  was  served  in 


204  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

truly  modern  style.  But  none  of  these  occasions 
equalled  the  reception  extended  at  Charleston  in  1858 
and  at  New  Orleans  in  1860.  As  if  shrinking  from 
imminent  separation  the  fellowship  of  these  co-work- 
ers was  the  more  intense. 

At  the  Charleston  Convention  the  first  afternoon  in 
place  of  formal  addresses  of  welcome  was  spent  in  a 
sail  around  the  harbor  and  a  picnic  on  Sullivan  Island, 
The  Report  (1858,  p.  11)  states  "that  the  steamer 
sailed  past  Fort  Sumter  to  Sullivan  Island  .  .  .  mar- 
tial music  waking  patriotic  echoes  .  .  .  under  the  gen- 
tle reign  of  peace,  on  the  spot  where  patriot  blood  was 
shed  .  .  .  when  independence  was  born  and  present 
national  happiness  ushered  in."  The  report  speaks 
of  the  influence  of  this  social  fellowship  as  a  bond  of 
union  which  would  "long  survive  the  separation  and 
vicissitudes  of  life."  x\t  New  Orleans  in  1860  the 
hymn  of  welcome  written  for  the  occasion  says, 
"Here  we  meet  in  unity."  The  entire  convention 
marched  later  in  the  procession  at  the  unveiling  of  a 
statue  of  Henry  Clay.  In  his  address  of  welcome  at 
the  opening  of  the  Convention,  Rev.  J.  B.  Walker 
said,  "We  know  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no 
West,  but  love  our  common  country  from  ocean  wave 
to  ocean  wave  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  institu- 
tions of  that  country  we  will  labor  with  men  and 
intercede  with  God." 

Fort  Sumter  was  fired  on  one  }-ear  later  on  April 
12,  1861.  President  Lincoln  issued  his  first  call  for 
troops  on  April  15.  On  May  6,  as  a  last  appeal  for 
peace,  William  T.  Munford  of  Richmond  jointly  with 
Joel  B.  Watkins,  former  chairman  of  the  Central 
Committee,  addressed  the  following  communication 
to  the  "Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of  North 
America" : 

"Brethren:  We  have  determined,  by  the  help  of 
God,  to  address  you  in  the  character  of  peace-makers. 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  205 

In  connection  with  the  Confederacy  of  Christian  As- 
sociations, we  trust  that  we  have  secured  the  confi- 
dence and  love  of  many  of  your  members  and  we  are 
conscious  that  we  sincerely  reciprocate  their  senti- 
ments. You  will  then  regard  with  some  respect  the 
statements  we  may  make  in  reference  to  the  present 
condition  of  our  country.  Many  of  those  who  par- 
ticipated with  us  in  the  Christian  fellowship  which 
was  exhibited  by  the  delegates  from  the  various  parts 
of  our  beloved  country  at  the  annual  conventions  held 
in  Troy,  Charleston,  Baltimore,  Cincinnati,  and  New 
Orleans,  will  doubtless  be  willing  to  unite  with  us  in 
an  earnest  eiTort  for  the  restoration  of  peace  and 
goodwill  between  the  contending  parties. 

"Through  the  distorting  medium  of  the  press,  there 
is  a  misunderstanding  between  the  North  and  the 
South  as  to  their  respective  positions.  If  there  could 
be  a  fair  representation  of  the  sentiments  of  the  bet- 
ter portion  of  the  people  at  the  North  and  the  South, 
we  should  not  present  the  melancholy  spectacle  of  a 
great  nation  involved  in  a  civil  w'ar,  which  must  be 
productive  of  the  most  disastrous  consequences  to  the 
material  and  spiritual  interests  of  each  section.  The 
separation  of  the  South  from  the  North  is  irrevocal)le, 
and  the  sooner  this  great  fact  is  acknowledged  by  the 
nations  of  the  earth  the  better  will  it  be  for  the  in- 
terests of  humanity.  The  conquest  of  either  section 
by  the  other  is  impossible.  You  can  have  no  doubt  of 
the  truth  of  this  proposition,  if  you  consider  the  teach- 
ing of  all  history  in  regard  to  the  ability  of  an  invaded 
country  to  repel  its  invaders,  wdiere  the  numbers  are 
nearly  equally  divided,  and  the  courage  of  each  is  un- 
questioned. In  the  present  contest  there  is  a  una- 
nimity of  sentiment  on  the  part  of  the  South  to  main- 
tain its  independence  and  to  repel  invasion,  which  has 
been  unexampled  in  the  history  of  the  world.  In  this 
community  almost  every  person  capable  of  bearing 


206  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

arms  is  ready  to  volunteer  in  the  service  of  the  State. 
Our  Association,  and  even  the  ministry,  is  largely 
represented  in  the  ranks  of  the  army.  The  South  has 
no  desire  to  invade  the  soil  of  the  North,  or  to  take 
from  it  any  of  its  rights.  We  only  ask  to  be  permitted 
to  govern  ourselves  in  accordance  with  the  principles 
which  were  guaranteed  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  which  were  maintained  by  the 
North  and  the  South  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  The 
wisest  and  best  men  of  both  sections  recognized  these 
principles,  and  we  do  not  now  advocate  a  war  of 
aggression  or  conquest. 

"As  Christians  let  us  discountenance  the  misrepre- 
sentations of  each  other,  which  are  so  frequently 
made,  and  let  us  labor  earnestly  in  the  cause  of  peace. 
In  November  last,  we  united  in  a  call  upon  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  for  the  appointment  of  a  day 
of  humiliation  and  prayer  to  Almighty  God  for  a 
blessing  on  our  country,  and  in  answer  to  our  prayers 
the  fratricidal  hand  has  thus  far  been  withheld  by  a 
merciful  providence.  Let  us  again  unite  our  prayers 
and  efforts  for  the  restoration  of  peace  and  goodwill 
between  the  Northern  and  Southern  Confederacies. 

"With  the  sincere  hope  that  we  may  be  able  to  con- 
gratulate you  at  our  approaching  Convention  in  St. 
Louis  upon  this  auspicious  result,  we  remain  yours, 
fraternally, 

"Wm.  p.  Munford, 
"Joel  B.  Watkins, 
"Wm.  H.  Gwarthmey." 

On  May  14  the  New  York  City  Association  replied 
as  follows : 

"Bible  House,  New  York,  May  14,  1861. 
"To  W^m.   P.   Munford,  Joel   B.   W^atkins,   Wm.   H. 
Gwarthmey. 
"Gentlemen:  Your  letter  of  the  6th  inst.  has  just 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  207 

reached  me.  Like  every  other  document  which  comes 
from  the  South,  there  is  in  your  letter  a  mixture  of 
truth  and  error.  For  instance,  you  say,  'Through  the 
distorting-  medium  of  the  press  there  is  a  misunder- 
standing between  the  North  and  South.'  Now  it  is 
true  that  the  press  has  'distorted'  the  truth  in  certain 
instances  in  the  North,  and  entirely  suppressed  it  in 
the  South  in  every  instance  where  it  did  not  accord 
with  the  interests  of  slavery.  But  I  cannot  believe 
there  is  any  longer  a  'misunderstanding  between  the 
North  and  the  South.'  There  is  but  one  question 
now — viz. :  Have  Southerners  the  right  to  rule  the 
Union  until  they  lose  an  election  and  then  destroy  it? 

"The  South  says,  'Yes.'  Young  and  old,  rich  and 
poor,  educated  and  ignorant,  religious  and  uncon- 
verted. North,  East,  and  West,  say  'No.' 

"The  whole  North  recognizes  the  war  as  a  holy 
effort  to  maintain  good  government.  The  cross  up- 
holds the  flag  on  our  churches,  and  in  every  assembly 
the  good  old  Union  hymns  are  sung  amid  tears  and 
cheers  of  generous,  godly  people  who  yet  love  you  and 
pray  for  you,  though  they  deny,  and  will  die  before 
they  will  consent  to,  the  right  of  secession.  The  only 
possible  way  for  us  to  consent  to  separation  is  through 
a  National  Convention.  Come  back  to  your  alle- 
giance, call  such  a  convention  by  your  votes  in  Con- 
gress, and  you  can  certainly  go.  This  will  be  regular. 
But  our  very  existence  is  imperilled  by  your  hideous 
'secession.'  No  government  could  stand  a  year  upon 
such  a  basis.  We  never  can  admit  it.  We  are  not  ig- 
norant of  loss  and  hardship,  and  we  can  learn  death. 
But  we  cannot  consent  to  throw  away  that  for  which 
our  fathers  fought  nor  to  call  our  glorious  govern- 
ment a  failure. 

"Indulge  me  in  one  word  more.  Slavery  is  wrong, 
you  have  determined  to  defend  that  wrong.  You  have 
counted  no  cost  in  defending  it  even  before  it  was  as- 


208  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

sailed  but  have  been  willing  even  to  destroy  our  gov- 
ernment for  fear  it  might  be.  May  God  forgive  you ; 
your  position  is  utterly  false  and  my  heart  bleeds  that 
men  calling  themselves  Christians  can  connect  them- 
selves with  so  wicked  a  cause,  even  calling  it  holy  and 
daring  to  compare  it  with  that  of  our  God-protected 
fathers ! ! 

''Your  Christians  will  meet  ours  in  battle.  The  7th 
regiment  of  New  York  numbers  many  of  our  mem- 
bers; the  12th  and  the  71st  as  well;  and  tomorrow  the 
9th  takes  others — active  earnest  Christians.  Doctor 
Tyng's  son  is  second  in  command  of  a  company  now 
in  A\'ashington.  My  friend,  Air.  Abbot,  correspond- 
ing secretary  of  the  Trenton  Association,  is  also  un- 
der arms.    Mr.  Haddock  of  Troy  writes  me  the  same. 

"Upon  you  and  your  'institution'  must  rest  the  re- 
sponsibility of  this  fratricidal  war,  and  shirk  it  or  dis- 
semble it  how  you  may,  God  will  require  an  account 
of  every  man  who  abets  the  treason  of  the  South.  I 
cannot  pray  for  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

"Noble  Heath,  Jr., 
"Cor.  Sec,  N.  Y.  Young  Men's  Christian  Association." 

The  leaders  of  the  Association  had  struggled  for 
nine  years  to  eliminate  slavery  discussion  and  all 
agitation  from  its  religious  meetings  and  its  inter- 
national convention  programs. 

It  was  this  experience  with  slavery  agitation  and 
later  with  the  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic  which 
has  led  the  Association  to  become  neutral  on  all 
moral  questions  when  they  become  political  issues. 
The  same  difficulty  has  arisen  more  recently  over  the 
economic  struggle  between  "Capital  and  Labor." 
Robert  R.  McBurney  of  New  York  City,  the  most  in- 
fluential leader  of  the  Association  movement,  in  1888 
announced  as  one  of  the  nine  settled  principles  of  the 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  2()9 

organization  "that  when  questions  of  moral  reform 
become  political  party  questions,  our  Association,  as 
such,  can  have  no  connection  with  them." 

One  must  with  reluctance  admit  the  necessity  for 
this  policy  on  the  part  of  an  interdenominational  in- 
ternational organization.  If  it  is  to  survive  it  must 
not  as  an  organization  engage  in  a  contest  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  this  or  that  current  movement  for  right- 
eousness. However  burning  your  zeal  for  social 
justice,  your  enthusiasm  for  prohibition,  or  your 
eagerness  to  free  the  slave,  you  cannot  advocate  your 
cause  on  the  platform  of  an  interdenominational  in- 
ternational religious  association  for  the  salvation  of 
young  men  without  disrupting  the  organization.  Be- 
fore the  Civil  War  the  Association  had  but  a  partial 
existence  nationally  and  would  have  disappeared  as  a 
national  organization  entirely  if  the  views  of  the  Con- 
gregationalists  of  New  England  on  slavery  or  of  the 
Southern  Methodists  of  Georgia  on  the  same  theme 
were  allowed  to  be  expressed  on  the  platform  of  the 
International  conventions. 

The  question  is  whether  there  is  an  adequate  per- 
manent field  for  an  organization  which  devotes  itself 
to  the  religious  education  of  young  men  and  boys, 
which  inculcates  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ,  but 
which  must  refrain  from  urging  their  application  to  a 
particular  situation  as  soon  as  this  becomes  a  party 
political  issue,  that  is,  as  soon  as  there  is  a  prospect  of 
the  ideal  being  practically  realized.  This  would  seem 
to  paralyze  action  at  the  very  moment  when  it  was 
worth  while  and  most  needed.  It  seems  like  deser- 
tion of  the  right  and  cowardice  in  the  face  of  opposi- 
tion. 

The  answer  is:  that  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation is  not  the  only  agency  for  action  or  expres- 
sion; the  members  under  the  inspiration  of  its  teach- 
ing should  as  citizens  and  Christians  organize  or  allv 


210  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

themselves  under  other  auspices  with  persons  hke- 
minded  with  themselves  for  the  immediate  reform  or 
promotion  of  the  moral  issue  at  stake,  McBurney 
illustrated  this  method  when  he  joined  with  Anthony 
Comstock  in  founding  the  Society  for  the  Suppression 
of  Vice  rather  than  carry  on  that  work  under  the  New 
.York  Association  with  which  it  originated.  Later 
Association  leaders  have  taken  a  prominent  part  in 
promoting  the  Playground  Movement  of  America,  the 
Boy  Scout  organization,  and  the  Laymen's  Mission- 
ary Movement."*' 

The  period  under  discussion  was  one  when  the  As- 
sociation was  seeking  to  find  itself.  It  did  not  succeed 
in  doing  so  completely ;  it  floundered  and  in  the  main 
failed  to  discover  its  true  mission,  but  it  took  one  step 
forward  by  elimination.  The  leaders  of  the  Associa- 
tion recognized  that  the  Association  was  not  to  be- 
come a  society  for  moral  reform  by  means  of  political 
action.  There  have  been  some  notable  exceptions  to 
this  practice.  As  soon  as  the  North  was  committed 
to  the  war  for  the  Union,  the  Associations  of  the 
North  allied  themselves  with  all  the  zeal  and  enthusi- 
asm of  young  manhood  with  the  cause  of  the  Union. 
Enlisting  was  stimulated,  funds  were  raised,  and  the 
great  work  of  the  United  States  Christian  Commis- 
sion w^as  established.  During  the  great  World  War 
there  has  been  a  similar  outburst  of  unanimity  which 
has  overridden  all  counsels  of  neutrality.  The  Asso- 
ciations entered  the  war  as  a  holy  crusade  against 

*Glen  K.  Sliurtlcff  (General  Secretary,  Cleveland.  1893-1909)  was 
the  most  constructive  social  mind  in  the  general  secretaryship.  He 
formed  a  Social  Service  Club  of  influential  and  growing  Cleve- 
landers  who  promoted  investigations  and  reform  through  various 
organizations  or  efforts  independent  of  the  Association  organization. 
The  founding  of  the  Juvenile  Court,  the  building  and  operation  by 
the  city  of  public  bath  houses,  the  founding  of  The  Municipal  Asso- 
ciation and  Civic  League,  the  reform  of  the  Jury  System,  and  the 
calling  of  several  successive  national  conferences  on  social  service 
were  conspicuous  results. — R.  E.  Lewis. 


rilll  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  211 

despotism  and  militarism.  The  Association  buildings 
of  England  and  Canada  were  often  enlisting  head- 
quarters. American  Associations  both  local  and  mili- 
tary became  the  centers  of  political  discussion.  In- 
struction to  the  soldiers  in  the  war  aims  of  the  gov- 
ernment was  one  of  the  great  services  rendered  by  the 
"Red  Triangle"  huts. 

Whether  the  avoidance  of  questions  of  moral  re- 
form when  they  are  adopted  by  political  parties  will 
continue  to  be  the  policy  of  the  future  is  difficult  to 
foretell.  The  International  Convention  for  1919  held 
at  Detroit  approved  the  declaration  of  the  Federal 
Council  of  Churches  supporting  many  of  Labor's  con- 
tentions against  Capital  and  many  students  at  the 
recent  Student  Volunteer  Convention  at  Des  Moines 
returned  home  dissatisfied  because  of  the  "stand  pat" 
attitude  of  that  Convention  and  the  obscuring  of  the 
social  message.  Several  of  the  large  forum  meetings 
held  on  Sunday  afternoons,  like  the  one  at  the  Bed- 
ford Branch,  Brooklyn,  or  at  Springfield,  Mass.,  are 
open  for  the  discussion  of  live  current  issues  but  in  the 
industrial  Associations  the  secretaries  must  hold  an 
independent  position  between  Capital  and  Labor.  It 
may  be  said,  however,  that  for  the  fifty  years  follow- 
ing 1855  the  experience  with  the  slavery  issue  estab- 
lished the  principle  of  neutrality  on  political  questions 
for  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

Sec.  28. — Industrial  and  Economic  Developments 

The  decade  preceding  the  Civil  War  saw  important 
steps  in  the  transition  of  American  life  from  the  agri- 
cultural to  the  industrial  stage.  The  prosperity  of 
this  period  has  already  been  mentioned.  This  was 
practically  uninterrupted  in  the  South  and  continued 
until  the  panic  of  1857  in  the  North  and  the  West. 

Slavery  was  the  cornerstone  of  Southern  prosper- 


212  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

ity;  cotton  and  rice  depended  on  slave  labor  for  profit- 
able production. 

("History  of  U.  S.,"  Rhodes,  Vol.  I,  p.  497.)  The 
passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  in  1854  raised 
the  hope  of  the  extension  of  slavery  into  Kansas.  "It 
was  thought  in  the  border  states  that  if  a  new  slave 
state  could  be  created  it  would  add  five  per  cent  to  the 
value  of  slaves,  which  were  already  very  high.  The 
planters  in  the  cotton  states  being  buyers  of  negroes 
did  not  regard  the  rise  of  value  as  an  unmixed  good 
but  they  did  not  grumble.  They  cast  about  for  a 
remedy.  The  reopening  of  the  African  slave  trade 
began  to  be  discussed  seriously  in  South  Carolina  and 
Mississippi." 

While  the  rest  of  the  country  was  still  struggling 
with  depression,  the  South  went  prosperously  on  its 
way.  Mr.  Rhodes  quotes  from  the  Neiv  York  Times 
of  March,  1859,  as  follows:  "There  is  no  disputing  the 
fact,"  writes  a  correspondent  from  New  Orleans, 
"that  the  Southern  portion  of  the  Confederacy  is  in  a 
highly  prosperous  condition — perhaps  never  more  so. 
Of  all  the  great  staples  produced,  the  crops  during  the 
past  year  have  been  abundant,  sales  active,  and  prices 
high.  .  .  .  No  species  of  property  has  felt  the  effect 
of  this  state  of  affairs  more  sensibly  than  the  negroes. 
The  average  price  of  field  hands  may  be  stated  at 
$1,500  and  the  tendency  is  upward.  Al  'niggers'  sell 
for  $1,750  to  $2,000.  These  rates  were  never  reached 
but  once  before.  .  .  .  The  South  is  getting  out  of  debt 
and  beginning  to  accumulate  surplus  capital." 

It  is  true  that  the  "poor  whites"  of  the  South  were 
indigent  and  could  not  compete  with  slave  labor,  but 
they  never  set  themselves  against  the  system. 

In  spite  of  the  supposed  cheapness  of  slave  labor  it 
is  an  interesting  economic  fact  that  the  free  industrial 
states  of  the  North  were  steadily  and  unmistakably 
outstripping  the  slave  states  of  the  South.   The  period 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  213 

we  are  discussing  closed  with  a  disastrous  panic  and 
a  devastating  civil  war,  and  yet  before  the  slave 
power  fell  the  free  states  had  gained  an  unapproach- 
able economic  supremacy.  They  had  entered  upon 
the  industrial  age  which  is  only  fairly  beginning  with 
the  New  South  of  the  present  time.  In  fact,  the  rapid 
increase  in  population  and  wealth  of  the  North  over 
the  South  was  one  of  the  reasons  leading  to  secession. 
The  slave  leaders  saw  both  economic  and  political 
supremacy  irrevocably  slipping  from  their  grasp. 

What  was  the  cause  of  the  rapid  rise  to  industrial 
power  of  the  North?  The  answer  is:  Intelligent  free 
labor  and  the  introduction  of  the  railroad,  the  tele- 
graph, and  agricultural  and  manufacturing  machin- 
ery. 

The  descendants  of  the  Puritans  had  peopled  and 
conquered  the  central  Northern  states  and  were  al- 
ready pushing  into  the  territory  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River.  Bancroft  states  that  in  1834  the  de- 
scendants of  New  England  were  one  third  the  white 
population  of  the  United  States.  That  the  4,000 
families  (21,200  persons)  who  migrated  from  Eng- 
land to  New  England  between  1620  and  1635  had  in 
200  years  an  average  of  1,000  descendants  for  each 
family  or  a  total  of  4,000,000  persons.  The  new  immi- 
gration from  Ireland  and  the  continent  of  Europe, 
which  began  with  the  Irish  famine  of  1848  and  the 
checking  of  the  European  revolutions  of  the  same 
year,  flowed  into  the  Northern  States.  The  immigrant 
avoided  slave  territory.  This  immigration  brought 
with  it  the  Catholic  Church  and  many  race  divisions, 
but  it  was  of  great  economic  value.  The  meteoric  rise 
and  fall  of  the  "Know-Nothing  Movement,"  which 
was  opposed  to  Irishmen  and  Catholics,  illustrate 
these  conflicts. 

Rhodes  remarks  (\'ol.  II,  p.  51)  :  "The  efforts  of  the 
Catholics  (1854)  to  exclude  the  Bible  from  the  pub- 


214  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

lie  schools  struck  a  chord  which  has  not  ceased  to 
vibrate.  The  ignorant  foreign  vote  had  begun  to  have 
an  important  influence  on  elections  and  the  result  in 
large  cities  was  anything  but  pleasant  of  honest,  effi-' 
cient  government."  The  immigration  between  1850 
and  1860  was  greater  than  the  preceding  decade  and 
was  not  again  surpassed  until  the  new  immigration 
movement  which  began  about  1870.  The  growth  of 
the  population  was  amazing  but  the  interesting  fact 
of  great  moment  to  our  theme  is  that  the  city  popula- 
tion of  the  North  was  growing  more  than  twice  as 
rapidly  as  the  rural  population. 

The  high  cost  of  living  is  said  to  have  begun  in 
1850  (Rhodes,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  112);  the  concentration  of 
wealth  began  in  this  decade  and  the  growth  of  city 
slums  (Rhodes,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  64). 

During  this  decade  the  North  was  beginning  to 
shake  off  the  provincialism  and  isolation  which  it  in- 
herited from  colonial  and  revolutionary  times.  The 
individualism  of  "Yankeedom"  and  the  crudeness  in- 
cident to  pioneer  life  were  to  a  degree  giving  way  to 
the  cosmopolitan  spirit.  The  great  impetus  to  this 
change  as  already  intimated  was  from  the  railroad 
and  the  telegraph.  These  and  immigration  from 
Europe  coupled  with  the  migration  westward  have 
given  a  fluid  dynamic  character  to  American  life. 
Herbert  Spencer  in  speaking  of  the  influence  of  inter- 
communication brought  about  by  the  railroad  and 
the  telegraph  says  ("Sociology,"  Vol.  I,  p.  575) : 
"Within  a  generation  the  social  organism  has  passed 
from  a  stage  like  that  of  a  cold-blooded  creature  with 
feeble  circulation  and  rudimentary  nerves  to  a  stage 
like  that  of  a  warm-blooded  creature  with  efficient 
vascular  system  and  a  developed  nervous  apparatus. 
To  this  more  than  any  other  cause  are  due  the  great 
changes  in  habits,  beliefs,  and  sentiments  characteriz- 
ing our  generation." 


THE  AMERICAN  CONFEDERATION  215 

The  industrial  North  with  its  large  cities  was  to 
give  to  the  world  the  modern  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  The  new  type  of  life  was  over-stimulat- 
ing to  young  men.  Their  natural  instability  of  temper 
was  accentuated  by  the  growth  of  the  city  and  the 
lure  of  the  Great  West.  Rev.  C.  M.  Butler  of  Cin- 
cinnati at  the  Association  Convention  held  in  that  city 
in  1855  said  (Cincinnati  Convention  Report,  1855,  p. 
33),  "The  times  have  crowded  into  our  youth  the 
combined  characteristics  of  the  boy  and  the  man  and 
have  subjected  them  to  the  dangers  which  belong  to 
both."  Young  men  in  politics,  in  industry,  and  in 
social  life  held  a  position  of  leadership  never  occupied 
by  them  before.  They  illustrate  Kipling's  "Feet  of 
the  Young  Men" : 

"  They  must  go,  go,  go  away  from  here ! 
On  the  other  side  the  World  they're  overdue. 
'Send  your  road  is  clear  before  you  when  the  old  Spring- 
fret  comes  o'er  you 
And  the  Red  Gods  call  for  you !'  " 

The  decade  of  1850  to  1860  in  the  United  States 
was  one  of  the  greatest  in  world  history  and  it  is  small 
wonder  that  young  men  felt  its  stimulus,  that  they 
thronged  its  rising  cities,  manned  the  growing  indus- 
tries, and  put  the  same  enthusiasm  and  aggressive 
spirit  into  the  religious  organization  which  they 
espoused. 

The  relation  between  national  economic  prosperity 
and  organized  religious  or  educational  progress  is 
more  intimate  than  is  generally  supposed.  It  is  true 
that  the  great  revival  of  1857  and  1858  followed  al- 
most as  swiftly  as  the  thunder-clap  follows  the  light- 
ning upon  the  heels  of  the  financial  panic  of  October, 
1857,  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  financial  depression 
of  that  period  sapped  the  organic  life  of  many  Asso- 
ciations.  Membership  in  many  of  the  Associations  fell 


216  YOUNG  MllN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

oft.  This  condilion  also  alTccled  other  v<jluiitary  or- 
ganizations. Many  library  associations  formally  con- 
sidered the  expediency  of  disbanding.  The  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  experienced  a  similar  de- 
pression laler,  following  the  financial  crises  of  1873 
and  1893.  In  1859  the  deficit  of  the  New  York  City 
Association  was  wiped  out  through  the  efforts  of  Ben- 
jamin v.  Manierre  but  reappeared  to  the  amount  of 
$1,000  in  1860.  The  New  York  Association  report  for 
that  year  states:  "The  Association  is  still  alive.  We 
do  not  intend  to  rehearse  all  the  difficulties  and 
troubles  which  have  attended  its  life.  Like  many 
benevolent  associations  at  the  present  time  we  are 
somewhat  in  debt,  our  expenses  having  considerably 
exceeded  our  receipts,  and  owing  to  the  peculiar  state 
of  the  times  we  have  not  l)een  able  to  carry  out  a  plan 
which  we  hoped  would  relieve  us  from  further  anxiety 
in  financial  matters."  The  report  following  the  out- 
l)reak  of  the  war  states  that  they  were  burdened 
"with  a  debt  of  nearly  $2,400  which  had  I)ecn  incurred 
by  previous  boards  of  directors  and  suffered  to  ac- 
cumulate until  its  magnitude  had  become  appalling 
and  had  seriously  paralyzed  not  only  all  eff'orts  to  re- 
duce the  liability  but  all  active  interest  in  the  Asso- 
ciation itself." 


Note:  The  smallness  of  the  iinancial  affairs  of  the 
Associations  of  these  early  days  is  seen  from  the 
budgets  reported  at  the  Cincinnati  Convention  of 
1855  (Cincinnati  Convention  Report,  1855,  p.  100). 
"The  last  report  of  a  few  societies  shows  the  annual 
receii)ts  as  follows:  lUiffalo,  $850;  Rochester,  $720; 
Philadelphia,  $1,089;  St.  Louis,  $1,114;  Baltimore, 
$1,475;  Washington,  $1,500;  Montreal,  £302;  San 
Francisco,  $2,045;  Brooklyn,  $2,135:  New  York, 
$3,621  ;  Boston.  $4,097. 


Tim  .IMIiKICAN  CONI'hDlLK.lTION  2\7 

Skc.  '^i). — Problrms  of  Trrr;  Conficdkration 

Having-  discussed  tlie  relati(ni  of  the  Associalion  to 
slavery,  tlie  great  political  and  nx^ral  issue  of  the  pre- 
war period,  and  having  examined  the  economic  and 
social  environment  in  which  the  infant  organization 
found  itself  we  must  now  turn  our  attention  to  the 
development  of  the  organization  itself. 

The  main  problems  of  this  period  were:  First,  the 
establishment  of  the  Confederation  with  its  Central 
Committee  and  conventions. 

Second,  the  discovery  of  the  true  aim  and  sphere  of 
the  Association  movement. 

Third,  the  definition  of  the  relation  of  the  Associa- 
tion to  the  Church. 

Fourth,  the  proper  basis  of  active  membership  for 
the  control  of  the  local  Association. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  LEADERS  WHO  MOULDED  THE 

THOUGHT  AND  LIFE  OF  THE 

CONFEDERATION 

Before  setting  forth  the  attempt  to  solve  these  per- 
plexing problems  in  statesmanship,  we  will  devote 
our  attention  to  some  interesting  personalities — the 
dramatis  persona  of  the  movement.  There  were  a 
number  of  stalwart  young  men  typical  of  American 
life  before  the  Civil  War  who  determined  the  policies 
and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Association.  Scarcely 
one  of  them  was  over  thirty  years  of  age.  They  were 
earnest,  practical  men,  free  from  cant,  who  accepted 
the  traditional  religious  teaching  of  their  day,  but 
were  remarkably  progressive  in  adopting  new 
methods  of  work. 

Sec.  30. — William  Chauncy  Langdon 

The  leading  figure  of  this  period  was  unquestion- 
ably William  Chauncy  Langdon  of  Washington,  who 
had  been  instrumental  in  founding  the  Washington 
Association  and  who  was  the  chief  promoter  of  the 
Buffalo  Convention  which  created  the  Confederation. 

How  can  the  career  of  so  remarkable  a  young  man 
as  W'illiam  Chauncy  Langdon  be  presented  in  the 
brief  space  at  our  disposal?  Its  idealism,  its  enter- 
prise, its  intrepid  courage,  its  vicissitudes,  its  teeming 
opportunities,  its  myriad  contacts  with  all  classes  of 
society,  its  world  outlook,  were  possible  only  to  an 
American  youth  who  came  to  young  manhood  in  the 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  219 

great  transitional  decade  from  1850  to  1860.  Langdon 
embodied  the  spirit  of  his  times  as  completely  as  he 
did  it  unconsciously.  He  might  have  been  a  great 
scientist.  He  might  have  been  a  great  lawyer.  He 
certainly  abandoned  unusual  business  opportunities. 
Many  young  men  decide  to  enter  the  ministry  before 
they  know  whether  they  can  achieve  business  success 
or  not.  Langdon  at  twenty-five  relinquished  a  busi- 
ness which  he  himself  had  built  up  to  yield  $10,000  a 
year — a  large  prospect  in  1856. 

Langdon  came  to  Washington  in  1851  in  a  period 
of  transition.  He  writes  ("Story  of  My  Early  Life," 
p.  71)  :  "The  period  at  which  the  course  of  my  life  had 
thus  brought  me  to  Washington  was,  in  some  re- 
spects, one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  our  history.  It 
was  a  great  transition  epoch  which  assembled,  in  the 
political  arena,  the  most  brilliant  gathering  of  public 
men  which  Washington  has,  perhaps,  ever  seen.  It 
was  the  last  great  crisis  of  the  older  issues.  It  was 
the  dawn  of  those  which  were  now  to  come.  It  was 
that  in  w^hich  the  Whig  party  only  lingered  on  the 
theater  of  action  with  its  great  leaders.  Clay  and 
Webster;  in  which  the  old  Democratic  party  was  re- 
organizing itself  for  new  questions;  in  which  the  Re- 
publican party  first  appeared  in  the  Senate  in  the  per- 
sons of  Seward  and  Chase  and  Sumner.  Calhoun  had, 
indeed,  passed  away  the  year  before;  but,  with  those 
already  named,  Badger  and  Soule,  Berrian  and  Sam 
Houston,  King  and  Jefferson  Davis,  were  there  from 
the  South;  Cass  and  Benton,  Crittenden  and  Doug- 
las, from  the  West,  with  many  others  scarcely  second 
even  to  them. 

"To  occupy  a  government  office — however  modest 
such  a  position  might  be — at  such  a  time,  to  be  living 
in  the  public  life  of  such  a  period,  to  come  into  per- 
sonal relations  with  some  of  these  men,  would  have 
been  a  privilege  at  any  age;  to  be  entering  upon  my 


220  YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

early  manhood  in  such  a  time  and  place  and  under 
such  circumstances,  was  a  rare  climax  of  an  excep- 
tional education." 

Langdon  came  of  an  important  New  England 
family.  Yet  he  grew  up  in  New  Orleans.  Before  he 
was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  had  lived  in  Washington, 
in  several  Southern  cities,  in  a  college  community,  on 
a  Southern  plantation,  in  several  New  England  cities, 
and  in  Iowa  and  Illinois.  He  was  highly  connected 
and  yet  the  loss  by  his  father  of  the  entire  family  re- 
sources by  the  defalcation  of  a  trusted  clerk  reduced 
the  family  at  one  period  to  the  most  straitened  cir- 
cumstances, and  the  heroic  struggle  of  Langdon  to 
secure  a  college  education  because  he  was  too  proud 
to  make  an  explanation  to  his  well-to-do  New  Eng- 
land relatives  is  a  touching  romance. 

Langdon  was  born  on  the  outskirts  of  Burlington, 
Vermont,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Champlain.  Be- 
cause of  the  precarious  health  of  his  mother  his  father 
decided  to  take  his  young  wife  and  child  first  to 
Washington  and  later  to  Louisiana.  A  tender  epi- 
sode is  the  letter  of  Langdon's  mother  written  for 
her  boy  then  less  than  a  year  old  who  she  at  that  time 
expected  would  soon  be  without  her  loving  care. 
("The  Story  of  My  Early  Life,"  pp.  6-7,  Langdon.) 

"March  11,  1832.  All  is  purity  and  innocence  about 
you,  my  darling  baby,  and  my  heart  is  so  full  of  love 
to  you  and  delight  in  you  now  and  hope  for  you  in 
the  future,  that  words  are  weak  in  the  attempt  to 
express  what  I  feel. 

"You  have  been  lent  me  by  our  kind  heavenly  Fa- 
ther and  I  ask  Him  to  assist  me  in  the  care  of  you.  I 
desire  first  of  all  things,  to  teach  you  to  give  your  in- 
fant heart  to  Him ;  to  have  a  childlike  love  and  con- 
fidence toward  Him  and  to  remember  that  whatever 
may  give  you  pleasure  comes  from  His  goodness  and 
love   for  vou.     \\'ould  that   vour   little   heart   could 


LEADIIKS  Of  inii  CONFEDERATION  221 

grow  into  niaiihood,  unstained  as  it  is  now,  and  need 
not  the  severe  discipline  of  this  world's  trials,  to 
purify  it  for  heaven. 

"If  it  please  God  to  take  away  your  mother  before 
you — even  before  you  learn  to  know  her  love — re- 
member, my  dear,  dear  boy,  you  had  in  her  a  friend 
who  would  have  borne  anything  to  save  you  from 
suffering,  and  who  would  only  have  been  happy  if 
she  saw  you  in  the  way  of  goodness.  Such  happiness 
as  I  ask  of  heaven  for  you,  my  darling  little  one,  you 
will  never  fmd,  but  in  the  path  of  goodness  and  use- 
fulness. 

"When  I  think  I  may  leave  you  in  this  world  of 
temptation,  I  tremble :  then  I  look  at  the  sinless  ex- 
pression of  your  little  face  and  feel  sure  you  will  be 
guarded  from  evil.  To  the  tender  care  of  an  Al- 
mighty Guardian  your  fond  mother  comniends  you." 

In  1836,  when  Langdon  was  five  years  old,  the 
family  moved  to  Louisiana.  It  was  while  they  were 
in  this  state  that  the  resources  of  the  family  were  lost 
through  a  trusted  clerk  who  was  sent  with  a  stock  of 
goods  to  the  new  republic  of  Texas,  and  the  struggle 
with  adverse  circumstances  began.  It  was  also  a  little 
later  that  Langdon's  father  served  as  a  colonel  in  the 
Mexican  War.  During  his  boyhood  Langdon  was 
attacked  by  both  yellow  fever  and  cholera.  His  most 
remarkable  experience  resulted  from  his  decision  at 
fifteen,  true  to  New  England  tradition,  to  seek  a  col- 
lege education. 

He  determined  to  earn  the  money  needed.  He 
says,  "The  thought  occurred  to  me  to  prepare  a  game 
of  cards  illustrative  of  English  history."  This  he  did. 
He  undertook  to  both  publish  and  sell  these  himself, 
and  later  added  a  similar  game  illustrative  of  Ameri- 
can history.  He  began  first  at  ]\Iobile  and  then  at  New 
Orleans.  In  the  printing  office  where  he  was  setting 
up  the  type  one   of  the   printers   remarked,   "If  you 


222  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

would  go  to  New  York  or  Boston  and  publish  these  in 
the  best  style  of  the  trade  you  would  very  likely  make 
enough  to  enable  you  to  go  to  college."  Langdon, 
though  only  fifteen,  persuaded  his  father  to  let  him 
undertake  this  venture.  In  Mobile  and  New  Orleans 
he  cleared  $95  and  started  with  his  mother  to  visit 
relatives  in  Iowa  and  Illinois.  On  the  steamer  and 
all  along  the  route  he  took  orders  for  his  game  "at 
$1.50  a  pack,  most  people  paying  him  in  advance." 
He  established  an  agency  at  St.  Louis  and  leaving  his 
relatives  at  Galena,  111.,  set  out  alone  by  stage  for 
Chicago.  He  took  orders  on  the  lake  steamers  and 
at  hotels  and  at  a  number  of  places  established  agen- 
cies, reaching  Boston  in  the  summer  of  1846.  He 
says  ("Early  Story  of  My  Life,"  p.  25),  "It  is  remark- 
able that  though  traveling  much  of  this  time  entirely 
alone,  though  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  I  had 
money  with  me,  not  a  person,  as  far  as  I  knew,  made 
any  attempt  either  to  cheat  me  or  beguile  me  in  any 
way  out  of  it  and  not  one  in  any  way  to  do  me  any 
moral  wrong." 

In  Boston  young  Langdon  was  received  into  the 
home  of  his  uncle,  George  Ticknor,  an  eminent  liter- 
ary man  and  publisher,  who  had  been  Longfellow's 
predecessor  in  the  chair  of  literature  at  Harvard. 
Another  of  Langdon's  uncles  was  governor  of  Ver- 
mont and  his  uncle,  B.  R.  Curtis,  became  associate 
justice  on  the  supreme  bench  at  \\'ashington.  Dur- 
ing the  few  months  he  was  at  Boston  perfecting  his 
game  and  securing  its  publication  he  had  remarkable 
opportunities  at  his  L^ncle  Ticknor's  home.  He  says 
("Early  Story  of  My  Life,"  p.  26)  :  "Here  during  the 
three  months  of  my  stay  in  Boston  I  saw  and  was 
brought  into  contact  with  very  many  persons  whom 
it  was  then  a  privilege  to  meet  and  whom  it  has  since 
been  a  great  pleasure  to  remember.  My  uncle's  li- 
brary was  a  gathering  place  for  a  large  number  of 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  223 

the  most  hig-hly  cullured  and  most  noted  people  of 
the  time  and  place.  Not  only  my  Uncle  Curtis  came 
and  Mr.  Savage,  but  Webster,  Prescott,  Longfellow, 
Everett,  Abbott  Lawrence,  the  Appletons,  and  Agas- 
siz  (then  lately  come  to  America),  and  many  others. 
Some  or  other  of  these  were  often  at  dinner  and  on 
almost  every  evening  when  the  Ticknors  were  not 
themselves  out  .  .  .  some  of  these  with  great  kindness 
invited  me  to  come  and  see  them,  Mr.  Abbott  Law- 
rence, Islv.  Prescott,  and  Mr.  Longfellow  particu- 
larly." 

All  of  these  friends  and  many  others  subscribed  for 
young  Langdon's  game.  His  Uncle  Ticknor  wrote 
of  him  at  this  time  ("The  Story  of  My  Early  Life," 
p.  27) :  "He  is  a  clear-headed,  active  boy,  better  able 
to  manage  his  own  affairs  than  most  men  ten  years 
older.  .  .  .  He  knows  how  to  adapt  his  means  to  his 
end  with  great  skill."  His  uncle  then  spoke  of  Lang- 
don's "sweetness  of  disposition"  and  "the  practi- 
cal efficiency  of  his  character."  He  also  expressed 
anxiety  lest  success  and  notoriety  should  make  him 
conceited  and  superficial.  On  August  26  Langdon 
attended  the  Commencement  exercises  at  Harvard 
University. 

Having  completed  the  publication  of  his  games 
Langdon  started  for  the  South,  selling  games  himself 
and  establishing  agencies  in  New  York  City  and  else- 
where. He  had  an  especially  successful  experience  in 
Washington,  where  his  family  had  many  friends,  one 
of  whom  presented  him  to  President  Polk,  who  sub- 
scribed for  Langdon's  game,  as  did  also  the  Vice- 
President  and  each  member  of  the  Cabinet.  This  was 
true  of  a  whole  list  of  noted  men,  including  Webster 
and  Calhoun.  Langdon  now  journeyed  South  taking 
orders  in  various  cities,  and  reached  New  Orleans  in 
April,  1847,  before  his  sixteenth  birthday,  having  ex- 
pended on  this  enterprise  $1,200,   all  of  which  had 


224  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

been  covered  by  ihe  receipts.  It  is  true  that  he  found 
he  could  not  reap  an  adequate  return  from  his  game 
without  persistently  promoting  it,  but  a  lad  with  such 
enterprise  was  sure  to  find  a  way  through  college. 
His  New  England  relatives  proposed  to  provide  for 
Langdon  a  preparation  for  college  at  an  academy  in 
Vermont.  This  plan  was  accepted  and  while  Lang- 
don ranked  high  in  his  studies,  for  some  reason  he 
did  not  fit  in  well  and  upon  completing  his  course, 
though  without  receiving  a  diploma,  he  determined 
to  return  South.  Later  he  entered  as  a  freshman  at 
Transylvania  LTniversity  in  Kentucky,  and  graduated 
in  three  years.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was  made  as- 
sistant professor  in  science  and  astronomy  at  Shelby 
College.  Of  his  college  days  Langdon  says:  ''I  was 
buoyant  and  full  of  life.  I  rose  early  and  gave  from 
ten  to  twelve  hours  daily  to  study  and  recitation." 
Langdon  became  a  lecturer  on  astronomy  and  before 
he  was  twenty-one  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
National  Institute  for  the  Promotion  of  Science. 

Langdon  received  an  appointment  as  assistant  ex- 
aminer at  the  patent  ofifice  in  Washington,  which  he 
accepted  in  May,  185 L  From  this  position  he  was 
advanced  four  years  later  to  be  chief  examiner,  wdien 
he  was  but  twenty-four  years  of  age.  One  year  later 
he  resigned  and  opened  an  of^ce  as  a  patent  expert, 
one  concern  alone  retaining  him  for  part  of  his  time  at 
$5,000  a  year.  Langdon  developed  a  bold  plan  for 
an  international  patent  business  which  was  of  much 
promise. 

During  these  years  from  different  directions  im- 
portant religious  influences  had  affected  Langdon, 
His  father  was  an  Episcopalian,  his  mother  a  devout 
Unitarian  through  the  ministrations  of  Doctor  Chan- 
ning  of  Boston.  Langdon  says  of  his  mother  while 
she  was  a  resident  of  Hanover,  "she  was  surrounded 
bv  the   influences   and    associations   of   the    straitest 


LEADERS  or  THE  CONFEDERATION  225 

New  England  Congregationalism,  by  which  she  was 
subjected  to  virtual  persecution  to  bring  her  more 
liberal  and  loving  views  of  God  and  of  the  Christian 
life  into  closer  cnnformity  with  a  severer  type  of 
theology." 

Langdon,  however,  became  attached  to  the  Epis- 
copal Church.  He  desired  to  be  confirmed  at  ten 
years  of  age  but  the  bishop  was  unwilling  to  receive 
him  until  he  was  twelve  years  old.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  a  Bible  class  in  New  Orleans,  which  influenced 
him  greatly,  and  during  his  trip  for  selling  his  game 
of  cards  he  became  acquainted  at  Hartford  with  an 
Episcopal  clergyman  who  urged  him  to  prepare  for 
the  ministry  and  who  offered  to  provide  for  his  entire 
education.  This  offer  Langdon  courteously  declined, 
but  it  was  in  a  measure  due  to  the  later  influence  of 
this  same  clergyman  that  Langdon  decided  to  enter 
the  ministry. 

\n  Washington  he  identified  himself  at  once  with 
Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  Dr.  Clement  M. 
Butler  was  then  the  rector.  Here  Langdon  became 
an  active  worker.  He  taught  a  Bible  class  of  young 
men,  four  of  whom  entered  the  ministry.  He  also 
met  Thomas  Duncan,  a  government  clerk  in  the 
treasury  department,  who  upon  reading  an  account  in 
a  British  paper  of  the  London  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  proposed  such  an  Association  for  Wash- 
ing-ton. W^illiam  Rhees  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion  and  Zalmon  Richards  united  in  a  movement  to 
establish  the  \\'ashington  Association  in  1852.  Of 
this  society  Langdon  became  the  first  corresponding 
secretary. 

Service  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
deepened  Langdon's  religious  interest.  Upon  re- 
turning from  the  first  convention  he  joined  with 
Rhees  in  establishing  a  mission  Sunday  school.  Writ- 
ing of  this  he  savs,  "On  Sundav,  October  1st,  1854, 


226  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

I  took  a  leading  part  in  starting  an  enterprise  which 
eventually  became  in  one  sense  a  bridge  over  which 
I  entered  into  the  practical  work  of  the  ministry." 
("The  Story  of  My  Early  Life,"  p.  98.) 

In  starting  this  mission  Sunday  school  Lang- 
don  had  the  help  of  nine  other  young  men.  They 
gathered  over  a  hundred  children.  This  mission  later 
developed  into  a  branch  of  Trinity  Church.  The  per- 
suasions of  Doctor  Butler  and  later  of  the  young 
woman  who  became  his  wife  were  the  final  influences 
which  led  Langdon  to  abandon  business,  give  up  his 
lingering  desire  to  become  a  scientist  and  devote  him- 
self to  the  ministry.  He  began  his  theological  studies 
while  still  in  the  patent  business  in  1856. 

Early  in  1857  he  went  abroad  for  rest,  study,  and 
travel.  It  was  on  this  journey  he  visited  many  Euro- 
pean Associations.  He  was  ordained  in  the  spring  of 
1858  and  became  assistant  rector  of  St.  Andrew's 
Church,  Philadelphia.  Langdon  had  become  deeply 
interested  in  Protestant  work  in  Italy  and  in  the 
unity  of  Christendom.  His  visits  to  Italy  awakened 
in  him  the  hope  that  the  Episcopal  churches  of  Eng- 
land and  America  might  through  the  interest  of  the 
"Old  Catholic  Party"  be  able  to  reunite  the  Protes- 
tant and  Roman  Catholic  churches.  He  went  abroad 
in  1859  and  remained  almost  continuously  until  1875. 

For  many  years  Langdon  devoted  himself  to 
church  unity.  He  founded  Episcopal  churches  at 
Rome  and  Geneva,  and  was  present  at  the  "Old 
Catholic  Congress"  at  Cologne  in  1872.  Shortly 
afterwards  he  returned  to  America  much  broken  in 
health.  Langdon  served  a  number  of  churches  for 
short  periods,  but  eventually  was  obliged  to  retire. 
He  wrote  a  number  of  treatises  on  the  Catholic  re- 
form movement.  His  last  days  were  spent  at  Provi- 
dence, R.  L,  where  he  died  when  sixty-four  years  of 
age,  in  1895. 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  227 

In  1887  he  wrote  a  carefully  prepared  account  of 
his  efforts  in  founding  the  international  alliance  under 
the  title  of  "The  Early  Story  of  the  Confederation 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association."  This 
was  written  as  a  lecture  at  the  request  of  J.  T.  Bowne, 
the  recentl}''  appointed  head  of  the  secretarial  course 
of  the  training  school  at  Springfield,  Mass.  Langdon 
gave  this  lecture  to  the  first  senior  class  at  the  school. 
It  was  received  with  deep  interest  and,  owing  to  the 
large  amount  of  original  material  contained  in  it,  was 
published  in  the  Year  Book  of  1888  by  the  Interna- 
tional Committee. 

Langdon  later  presented  the  Historical  Library 
with  his  collection  of  books,  papers,  manuscripts,  and 
letters  of  the  pre-war  decade  of  Association  history. 

An  entirely  new  generation  of  leaders  had  arisen 
in  the  Association  during  the  twenty  years  Langdon 
was  abroad  and  he  never  reestablished  relationships 
in  any  active  way  upon  his  return  to  America.  He 
addressed  the  Employed  Ofificers'  Conference  of 
North  America  at  their  meeting  in  Providence. 
Shortly  before  his  death  he  was  present  at  the  Inter- 
national Convention  of  1895  at  Springfield  and  was 
introduced  to  the  delegates  at  the  opening  session. 

Langdon  in  many  respects  surpassed  the  men  who 
were  active  in  Association  work  in  his  day.  In 
scholarly  attainments,  in  intellectual  gifts,  in  social 
and  family  connections,  in  travel  and  experience,  he 
was  easily  the  leader.  His  exact  training  in  science 
and  his  careful  practice  as  a  writer  in  the  patent  of^ce 
developed  gifts  of  analysis  of  no  mean  order. 

He  had  a  faculty  of  getting  at  the  bottom  of  a  prob- 
lem, of  pursuing  it  to  the  smallest  detail  and  not  leav- 
ing it  until  he  was  confident  he  had  found  the  right 
solution. 

In  later  years  he  thus  describes  himself  at  the  time 
he  founded  the  Central  Committee   ("The  Story  of 


228  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

My  Early  Life,"  p.  62)  :  "I  had  inherited  from  my 
mother  and  from  her  family  a  sensitive  organization, 
clear  perceptions,  and  a  scholarly  temperament,  a 
natural  capacity  both  for  acquiring  and  for  imparting 
knowledge — and  from  my  father,  considerable  force, 
persistency,  tenacity,  and  pride  of  character.  .  .  .  My 
mother  had  been  the  one  chief  and  most  intimate 
companion  and  confidante  of  my  childhood  and 
youth.  .  .  .  M}'  mother's  religious  influence  had  ever 
been  both  sincere  and  practical.  .  .  .  My  chief  talent 
was  for  organization  and  administration ;  my  power 
w^as  in  what  has  been  termed  'a  constructive  imagina- 
tion' and  in  a  faculty  for  marshalling  all  the  informa- 
tion of  which  I  was  possessed  in  its  relations  to  the 
matter  in  hand  and  for  such  concentrated  application 
of  my  mind  to  that  one  thing  that  for  the  time  being 
everything  else  ceased  to  exist  for  me." 

It  is  one  of  the  tragedies  of  life  to  find  a  man  with 
Langdon's  fine  idealism  surrendering  glowing  ma- 
terial prospects  to  devote  his  splendid  enthusiasm  to 
the  baffling  task  of  reuniting  the  divided  branches  of 
Christendom.  His  services  in  federating  the  scat- 
tered Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of  North 
America  in  the  early  fifties  may  prove  to  have  accom- 
plished more  for  promoting  Christian  union  than 
all  the  direct  endeavors  of  his  later  life.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  has  been  vaguely  recognized  by  Associa- 
tion officers  and  not  at  all  by  other  religious  leaders. 
The  sketch  of  Langdon  in  Appleton's  "Encyclopedia 
of  American  Biography"  describes  his  work  in  Italy 
and  his  writings,  but  in  no  way  alludes  to  the  most 
important  service  of  his  life,  the  federating  of  the 
American  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  the 
shaping  of  their  international  policy  by  his  dominant 
personality,  and  the  influence  this  has  had  in  promot- 
ing Christian  unity.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  it 
was  Lanofdon's  contact  with  the  Association  and  his 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  229 

enthusiasm  for  interdenominational  endeavor  that 
directed  his  hfe  effort  toward  the  great  ideal  of 
reuniting  Christendom. 

Langdon  was  temperate  in  his  views  regarding 
slavery.  No  other  young  man  in  the  Association  of 
that  day  had  had  so  extensive  an  acquaintance  with 
the  national  life  of  our  country  both  North  and 
South  or  was  so  well  qualified  to  pilot  an  infant  in- 
ternational organization.  He  knew  the  New  Eng- 
land point  of  view.  His  mother  was  a  Unitarian  and 
a  disciple  of  Channing.  He  had  studied  in  a  Vermont 
academy  and  had  lived  in  Boston.  He  had  visited  for 
months  in  the  free  West.  He  spent  most  of  his  boy- 
hood in  New  Orleans  and  IMobile.  He  knew  the 
Southern  attitude  toward  slavery.  At  one  time  his 
father  owned  a  slave  and  Langdon  was  cared  for 
when  he  was  a  child  in  Washington  by  a  "black 
mammy."  Later  he  tried  to  help  one  of  their  negro 
women  servants  when  the  young  colored  man  she 
was  to  marry  was  sold  and  about  to  be  sent  to  a  dis- 
tant state.  He  was  a  college  mate  of  Vice-President 
Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky.  Just  after  Langdon's 
ordination,  the  Vice-President,  at  the  opening  of 
Congress,  invited  him  to  conduct  the  religious  exer- 
cises in  the  Senate  and  reminded  him  of  their  college 
experiences. 

When  "L'ncle  Tom's  Cabin''  was  written  it  ap- 
peared as  a  serial  in  the  National  Era.  Langdon,  with 
Rhees  and  others,  prevented  the  exclusion  of  this 
paper  from  the  Washington  Association  reading 
room.  The  New  York  Association  suffered  seriously 
for  lack  of  similar  wise  leadership.  Langdon  be- 
lieved that  the  institution  of  slavery  could  not  be 
overthrown  by  any  action  of  the  Young  [Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  and  that  Christian  young  men  should 
not  allow  their  dift'erence  of  opinion  on  even  so  vital 
a   matter  as   this   to   prevent   their   fellowship,   their 


230  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

working  together  in  the  same  organization,  or  their 
treating  each  other  as  brethren. 

The  chief  leaders  of  the  period  were  located  in 
Washington,  Cincinnati,  Buffalo,  and  Richmond,  and 
at  its  close  in  Philadelphia.  Important  contributions 
were  also  made  by  individuals  from  New  York, 
Cleveland,  and  New  Orleans. 

The  most  influential  religious  movement  of  the 
period  was  the  revival  of  1857,  which  was  fostered 
by  the  New  York  Association,  but  in  the  main  the 
leadership  of  the  Association  movement  was  as  stated 
above. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  cities  named  were  each  in 
turn  the  seat  of  the  Central  Committee  and  so  for  the 
time  being  the  capital  of  the  Association  Confedera- 
tion. These  men  who  led  the  movement  all  at  vari- 
ous times  served  on  the  Central  Committee  and  were 
frequent  delegates  at  the  International  conventions. 
Service  on  the  committee  and  attendance  at  these 
annual  gatherings  provided  the  training  school  which 
developed  these  leaders. 


Sec.  31. — Zalmon  Richards 

Associated  with  'Mr.  Langdon  at  Washington  were 
William  J.  Rhees  and  Zalmon  Richards. 

Richards  was  an  active  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Washington 
Association.  He  became  its  second  president  and 
was  interested  in  Langdon's  proposal  of  a  confedera- 
tion of  all  the  American  Associations. 

As  president  of  the  Washington  Association  in  his 
annual  report  (First  Washington  Report,  p.  7)  he 
said,  "Voluntary  Associations  do  not  owe  their  effi- 
ciency so  much  to  their  constitutions  and  by-laws  as 
to  the  zeal  and  faithfulness  of  their  members  in  carry- 
ing out   the   laws   they  have."      Richards,   however. 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  231 

proved  a  strict  constructionist  regarding  the  Articles 
of  Confederation.  He  loyally  supported  Langdon 
and  Samuel  Lowry  in  their  attempts  to  establish  a 
Central  Committee  without  authority  and  strictly  ad- 
visory in  character.  He  also  took  the  practical  posi- 
tion that  the  Association  should  keep  itself  free  from 
the  discussion  of  slavery. 

Richards  was  a  delegate  to  the  first  convention  at 
Buffalo,  where  he  took  an  active  part.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  credential  committee  and  was  chairman  of 
the  business  committee.  It  was  to  the  business  com- 
mittee that  the  anti-slavery  resolution  was  referred 
which  would  have  disrupted  the  convention.  His 
most  important  service  at  Buffalo  was  the  presenting 
of  the  report  embodying  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, by  the  adoption  of  which  international  super- 
vision was  assured. 

Richards  became  a  member  of  the  first  Central 
Committee  (Buffalo  Convention  Report,  1854,  p.  40). 
While  Langdon  was  absent  in  Europe  Richards  was 
one  of  the  few  members  of  the  "old  guard"  present 
at  the  Richmond  Convention  of  1857.  At  this  con- 
vention he  served  on  three  committees ;  he  was  chair- 
man of  the  nominating  committee  which  organized 
the  convention,  a  member  of  the  business  committee 
which  carried  out  the  program,  and  also  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  Central  Committee's  report  which 
recommended  the  policies  for  the  coming  year. 

At  Troy,  1859,  at  the  critical  convention  of  the 
Confederation,  Richards  was  again  a  delegate.  An 
essay  by  Lowry  on  the  purpose  of  the  Confederation 
was  read  in  his  absence  by  Richards.  Langdon  stood 
alone  for  the  proposition  that  the  Church  and  not  the 
Association  was  the  proper  agency  for  the  general 
propagation  of  the  gospel  to  the  whole  world.  Rich- 
ards did  not  support  Langdon  but  he  did  oppose 
allowing  the  Central  Committee  the  power  of  passing 


232  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

on  the  admission  of  local  Associations  to  the  Con- 
federation. He  said  (Troy  Convention  Report,  1859, 
p.  43),  "We  ought  especially  to  guard  against  giving 
any  more  power  to  the  Central  Committee  of  the 
convention."  He  also  said  he  would  "fight  tooth  and 
nail"  any  resolution  giving  the  committee  power  to 
reject  a  local  Association.  In  this  he  was  defeated 
on  the  ground  that  organizations  have  the  right  of 
deciding  who  shall  participate  as  members. 

Sec.  32. — William  J.  Rhees 

The  leading  progressive  among  the  little  group  of 
Association  leaders  was  William  J.  Rhees,  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Washington  Association,  to  which 
he  gave  much  time  voluntarily  as  librarian. 

Rhees  was  one  year  younger  than  Langdon.  He 
received  his  M.  A.  degree  when  twenty-two  years  of 
age  and  became  chief  clerk  with  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution. He  spent  his  life  in  Washington  and  was 
one  of  the  inner  coterie  of  gentlemen  in  the  capital 
city  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  promotion  of  sci- 
ence. 

Rhees  was  present  as  a  delegate  at  the  Buffalo 
Convention  and  he  attended  all  of  the  conventions  of 
the  Confederation  period  except  the  final  one  at  New 
Orleans.  This  was  true  of  no  other  leader.  When 
Langdon  felt  that  his  efforts  to  establish  the  Con- 
federation had  aroused  so  much  opposition  that  it 
would  be  for  the  interest  of  the  Central  Committee  to 
withdraw  his  name  from  membership  even  though 
the  headquarters  were  transferred  to  Cincinnati, 
Rhees  was  appointed  in  his  place.  Rhees  served  on 
the  Central  Committee  longer  than  any  other  Asso- 
ciation leader  of  this  period.  He  was  a  member  dur- 
ing the  administration  of  the  Washington  committee. 
Each  successive  convention  until  the  year  1866  ap- 


LEADERS  OF  THE  COXFEDERATIOX  233 

pointed  him  as  the  district  member  for  Washington. 
To  no  man  of  the  Confederation  except  Langdon  is 
the  early  Association  movement  under  more  obliga- 
tion. Rhees  was  open-minded,  more  hberal  in  his 
ideas  than  most  of  his  associates,  and  he  stood  for  a 
more  progressive  poHcy. 

In  his  report  as  Hbrarian  of  the  Washington  Asso- 
ciation (First  Washington  Report,  1854,  p.  66)  he  said, 
'*In  the  selection  or  reception  of  books,  the  library 
committee  have  always  thought  it  proper  to  reject 
nothing  which  was  of  high  moral  character  and  liter- 
ary merit,  whatever  might  be  the  religious  or  political 
views  advocated."  "Our  knowledge  of  each  form  of 
belief  should  be  gained  from  those  works  which  ad- 
vocate them  and  not  from  opponents." 

At  the  Buffalo  Convention  he  opposed  the  resolu- 
tion recommended  to  all  the  Associations  "to  admit 
into  their  libraries  no  work  which  is  unfriendly  to 
evangelical  Christian  faith."  At  the  Buffalo  Conven- 
tion Rhees  was  chosen  secretary.  He  rendered  the 
same  service  at  Montreal,  getting  out  the  convention 
report.  At  Buffalo  he  opposed  the  proposition  of  the 
Boston  delegate  that  Associations  be  entitled  to  vote 
at  conventions  in  proportion  to  their  membership,  for 
fear  this  would  give  the  large  organization  undue 
control. 

At  the  first  convention  his  chief  services  were  in 
connection  with  the  discussion  of  the  work  of  the 
Association  and  the  basis  of  membership.  He 
\vrongly  favored  the  broad  program  for  the  work  of 
the  Association  rather  than  for  young  men  only. 
Rhees  was  chairman  of  the  committee  to  whom  was 
referred  the  evangelical  basis  for  membership.  He 
drafted  the  statement  (First  Buft'alo  Report,  1854, 
p.  35):  "We,  therefore,  acknowledge  no  creed  but 
the  Bible  and  we  are  ready  to  welcome  all  young  men 
whether  members  of  evangelical  churches,  or  of  no 


234  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

church,  to  our  Associations,  .  .  .  preserving,  how- 
ever, by  such  provisions  as  each  Association  shall 
deem  necessary  the  control  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  are  active  members  of  evangelical  churches. 
Your  committee  think  that  as  few  restrictions  and 
distinctions  as  possible  should  be  adopted  by  our  As- 
sociations which  would  tend  to  keep  from  a  cordial 
cooperation  in  our  great  moral  enterprise  any  body 
of  professing  Christians,  however  much  they  may 
differ  from  a  majority  of  us  in  faith." 

Rhees  early  conceived  the  idea  that  active  mem- 
bership should  be  limited  to  members  who  render  a 
service.  At  the  second  convention  at  Cincinnati  he 
advocated  the  plan  of  the  Washington  Association — 
that  all  new  members  be  elected  as  associate  mem- 
bers and  that  only  those  rendering  a  service  be  later 
chosen  as  active  members,  office  holding  and  voting 
on  the  constitution  being  the  only  function  limited 
to  members  of  evangelical  churches.  The  Montreal 
Convention  (1856)  spent  three  sessions  on  the  mem- 
bership issue,  over  two  of  which  Rhees  presided.  No 
further  decision  was  made  at  that  time.  At  the 
Charleston  Convention  (1858)  a  session  was  devoted 
to  Rhees'  idea  that  active  membership  should  be 
limited  to  members  "actually  active."  The  conven- 
tion voted  "that  it  was  not  prepared  to  give  an  affirm- 
ative response,"  but  stated  that  it  was  a  matter 
worthy  of  careful  consideration  by  local  Associations. 
Rhees  was  an  unwearied  advocate  of  local  option  on 
the  question  of  a  test  for  active  membership — a  con- 
viction later  shared  by  Cephas  Brainerd. 

Rhees  at  Cincinnati  (1855)  proposed  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Quarterly  Reporter,  which  became  the 
chief  means  of  promotion  of  the  Association  cause  in 
the  early  days.  While  Langdon  was  abroad  as  a  dele- 
gate to  the  European  Associations,  Rhees  served  as 
foreign  secretary  of  the  Central  Committee. 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  235 

At  the  Montreal  Convention  he  showed  his  progres- 
sive spirit  far  in  advance  of  the  times  by  proposing 
(Montreal  Convention  Report,  1856,  p.  15)  a  resolu- 
tion: "Whether  any  means  can  be  provided  by  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  for  the  physical  devel- 
opment and  promotion  of  the  health  of  their  members 
by  gymnasiums,  baths,  etc.,"  and  also  "the  practical 
influence  of  theaters  and  similar  places  of  amuse- 
ment." These  resolutions  were  referred  to  special 
committees  and  were  the  first  discussions  of  these 
subjects  which  were  destined  to  influence  most  pro- 
foundly not  only  the  work  of  the  Association  but  its 
whole  temper  and  spirit.  The  introduction  of  the 
physical  department  as  a  means  of  developing  charac- 
ter is  the  greatest  contribution  to  religious  thinking 
the  Association  has  made,  and  the  idea  that  whole- 
some amusement  should  be  used  to  make  religion  at- 
tractive to  young  men  led  the  Associations  to  take 
the  point  of  view  of  the  young  man  and  begin  at  his 
dominant  interest  rather  than  seek  to  admonish  or 
exhort  him.  The  resolution  on  physical  education 
was  laid  on  the  table,  but  a  fairly  progressive  reso- 
lution on  amusements  was  adopted  (Montreal  Con- 
vention Report,  1856,  pp.  65-67),  though  a  later  con- 
vention at  the  same  city  in  1867  reversed  this  action. 

One  plan  of  the  Central  Committee  assigned  to 
Rhees  failed.  The  committee  undertook  under  his 
leadership  to  establish  a  lecture  bureau  for  the  lecture 
courses  throughout  the  country,  but  while  some  emi- 
nent lecturers  like  John  B.  Gough  were  introduced 
to  Associations,  the  plan  broke  down,  Rhees  was 
instrumental  in  raising  the  debt  incurred  by  the  first 
Central  Committee  which  had  been  unpaid  for  two 
years.  He  showed  a  keen  interest  in  the  financial 
affairs  of  the  Central  Committee.  At  the  Richmond 
Convention  in  1857  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
the  Confederation  he  recommended  (Richmond  Con- 


236  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

vention  Report,  1857,  p.  16j  :  '"That  we  endeavor  to 
obtain  one  thousand  subscriptions  for  the  Reporter, 
as  the  amount  thus  obtained  will  defray  all  the  ex- 
penses of  publication  and  provide  a  sufficient  sum  for 
the  Central  Committee  to  increase  their  means  of 
usefulness  and  the  general  good.  This  plan  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  best  for  raising  the  fund  required  to 
carry  on  the  operations  of  the  Central  Committee." 

At  the  Charleston  Convention  Rhees  made  a  most 
important  proposition  that  the  Central  Committee 
add  to  its  service  the  visitation  of  the  Association  by 
members  of  the  committee.  These  visits  were  to  in- 
clude unorganized  towns  wnth  a  view  to  establishing 
new  Associations.  This  plan  was  approved  by  suc- 
ceeding conventions  and  became  a  permanent  policy 
wdiich  has  expanded  into  the  employment  of  a  large 
body  of  traveling  secretaries. 

Rhees  never  seems  to  have  accepted  Langdon's  be- 
lief that  the  Association  should  confine  its  efforts  to 
work  for  young  men.  In  this  opinion  he  followed  the 
sentiment  of  most  of  the  Association  leaders  and 
failed  to  see  the  real  sphere  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  At  the  Charleston  Conven- 
tion (1858)  Rhees  presided  at  the  session  on  "The 
True  Sphere  of  the  Young  ]\Ien's  Christian  Associa- 
tion." Two  sessions  were  devoted  to  discussing  this 
issue  and  the  Cincinnati  resolution  was  reapproved. 
This  to  a  degree  satisfied  both  the  advocates  of  a 
broad  field  and  a  specialized  field.  It  favored  the 
building  up  of  "Christian  character  and  Christian 
activity  among  young  men." 

At  the  significant  Troy  Convention  Rhees  opposed 
Langdon  on  this  issue.  He  held  that  the  Association 
(Troy  Convention  Report,  1859,  p.  58)  should  engage 
in  evangelistic  work  and  maintain  mission  Sunday 
schools  for  the  masses.  He  quoted  from  the  report 
of  the  Buffalo  Convention  to  prove  that  Langdon  was 


LEADERS  OP  THE  CONFEDERATION  237 

in  error  in  claiming  that  general  evangelistic  effort 
by  the  Associations  was  "a  novel  doctrine."  This 
position  was  in  keeping  with  Rhees'  last  effort  at  an 
Association  convention.  After  the  Civil  \\'ar  was 
over,  at  the  Philadelphia  Convention  in  1865  (Phila- 
delphia Convention  Report,  1865,  p.  46)  he  supported 
a  resolution  of  one  of  his  fellow  delegates  from  Wash- 
ington proposing  to  establish  an  "American  Protes- 
tant Association"  and  (p.  85)  true  to  his  early  con- 
victions, advocated  ''Mission  Sabbath  Schools"  on  the 
floor  of  the  convention.  One  of  Rhees'  important 
services  was  in  collecting  the  records  and  publications 
of  this  period.  His  relation  to  the  Central  Commit- 
tee and  the  foreign  Associations  gave  him  an  unusual 
opportunity.  Some  of  these  documents  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire.  This  led  him  to  gather  new  copies 
and  these,  with  others  he  possessed,  were  given  to  the 
Library  of  Congress.  Later,  in  1890,  he  gave  many 
early  documents  and  publications  to  Bowne  for  the 
Historical  Library. 

It  will  be  seen  that  international  supervision  as 
embodied  in  the  conventions  and  the  Central  Com- 
mittee owes  a  great  debt  to  the  early  Association 
leaders  at  Washington.  Langdon,  Richards,  and 
Rhees  had  the  vision,  the  consecration,  the  intelli- 
gence, and  the  industry  to  inaugurate  this  work.  The 
broad,  statesmanlike  leadership  and  keen  intellectual 
insight  of  Langdon  were  equalled  by  the  liberality  and 
breadth  of  spirit  of  Rhees  in  his  attitude  toward  theo- 
logical questions  and  his  prophetic,  progressive  ad- 
vocacy of  physical  training  and  wholesome  recrea- 
tion as  features  of  the  Association  program. 

There  is  a  distinct  let-down  in  the  intellectual 
quality  of  the  Association  leadership  as  it  passed 
from  the  Washington  group,  although  there  is  an 
intensifying  of  religious  zeal. 


238  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

Sec.  33. — William  H.  Neff 

The  Cincinnati  group  assumed  management  of  the 
Central  Committee  at  a  critical  time  in  1856.  The 
Confederation  was  by  no  means  firmly  established 
and  it  was  proposed  to  shift  headquarters  to  a  new 
center.  This  was  done  at  the  Cincinnati  Convention 
by  the  appointment  on  the  Central  Committee  of  five 
local  members.  Of  this  committee,  H.  Thane  Miller 
became  chairman  and  William  H.  NefY  became  the 
chief  executive  under  the  title  of  home  secretary. 
This  title  was  afterwards  changed  to  corresponding 
secretary. 

NefT  had  been  a  delegate  at  the  Buffalo  Convention 
where,  next  to  Langdon,  he  was  the  most  influential 
leader.  He  prepared  the  first  draft  of  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  and  served  on  the  committee  to 
which  these  articles  were  referred.  Neff  made  the 
motion  for  their  final  adoption  and  advocated  them 
in  an  earnest  appeal. 

Neff  was  chairman  of  the  local  committee  for  en- 
tertaining the  second  convention  at  Cincinnati  and 
called  that  gathering  to  order.  The  second  Central 
Committee,  during  the  year  he  was  its  corresponding 
secretary,  did  much  to  shape  the  character  of  the 
Confederation.  In  his  report  at  Montreal  Neff  said 
(Montreal  Convention  Report,  1857,  p.  49),  "The 
Committee  'considered  that  the  Associations  had  en- 
tered into  this  Confederation  for  their  mutual  encour- 
agement, cooperation,  and  more  extended  usefulness' 
without  yielding  up  any  portion  of  their  own  inde- 
pendence or  without  giving  to  the  Confederation  or 
its  agents  any  power  whatever  to  interfere  in  any  re- 
spect with  the  local  affairs  of  any  Association." 

The  committee  extended  its  own  organization  by 
appointing  district  corresponding  secretaries  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.    Seven  new  Associations  united 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  239 

with  the  Confederation.  The  most  important  ad- 
vance was  the  esta])lishment  of  the  Quarterly  Re- 
porter as  the  organ  of  the  Association.  The  first  issue 
of  500  copies  appeared  January  30,  1856.  Nefif  bore 
the  chief  share  in  editing  this  quarterly,  which  was 
circulated  among  all  the  Associations  both  at  home 
and  abroad.  He  said,  "The  Committee  considers  the 
subject  of  a  periodical  by  far  the  most  important  of 
those  committed  to  them  by  the  convention  and 
spared  no  pains  in  making  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments." 

Nefi  was  made  president  of  the  third  convention 
held  at  Montreal,  in  1856.  He  did  much  to  promote 
the  international  fellowship  of  that  gathering  and  in 
his  farewell  remarks  said,  speaking  of  the  fear  of  war 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  (Mont- 
real Convention  Report,  1856,  p.  70),  "By  resolution 
we  have  set  apart  the  first  Tuesday  in  August  as  a 
day  of  humiliation  and  prayer  and  we  would  respect- 
fully invite  you  to  unite  with  us  on  that  day  in  im- 
ploring our  heavenly  Father  to  avert  the  calamity 
which  seems  to  be  gathering  around  and  impending 
over  us." 

Nefi'  was  reappointed  to  the  Central  Committee 
but  was  unable  to  serve.  During  the  following  year 
he  visited  a  number  of  Associations  in  Europe. 

Sec.  34. — Samuel  Lowry,  Jr. 

Samuel  Lowry,  Jr.,  became  Nefif's  successor  as  cor- 
responding secretary  of  the  Central  Committee. 
Lowry  was  a  delegate  at  the  first  convention  at  Buf- 
falo where  he  reported  for  the  Cincinnati  Association 
and  was  a  member  of  the  business  committee  which 
considered  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  He  was 
also  active  in  entertaining  the  second  convention. 
Lowry  did  not  attend  the  Montreal  Convention,  but 


240  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

as  neither  Neff  nor  H.  Thane  Miller  was  present  at 
Richmond  (1837)  he  bore  the  entire  responsibility  of 
representing  the  committee. 

At  Richmond  he  presented  the  Central  Commit- 
tee's annual  report  and  served  as  chairman  of  the 
business  committee.  The  annual  report  of  the  com- 
mittee stated  "Resolutions  requesting  action  upon 
'the  observance  of  the  Sabbath/  a  'report  on  Sabbath 
schools,'  and  'communications  on  Sabbath  schools,' 
were  considered  by  the  committee  as  beyond  the 
sphere  of  their  duties." 

A.  G.  Cummings,  a  corresponding  delegate  from 
Philadelphia,  introduced  a  series  of  resolutions  at 
this  convention,  proposing  that  the  convention  rec- 
ommend measures  to  enforce  Sabbath  observance 
and  that  the  action  of  the  Bible  Society  in  issuing  a 
new  edition  of  the  Bible  be  condemned  because,  the 
mover  claimed,  it  contained  alterations.  Cummings 
also  proposed  the  adoption  of  a  constitution  and  by- 
laws for  the  Confederation.  These  matters  were  re- 
ferred one  by  one  to  the  business  committee  of  which 
Lowry  was  chairman  and  were  stoutly  opposed  by 
him.  All  these  propositions  were  rejected  by  the 
convention,  but  they  consumed  much  valuable  time. 
Lowry  in  the  Quarterly  Reporter  (April,  1858,  p.  30) 
further  discussed  the  desirability  of  simplicity  in  the 
constitution  of  local  Associations  and  urged  the  folly 
of  adopting  a  hard  and  fast  constitution  for  the  Con- 
federation— a  plan  urged  by  abolition  sympathizers. 

When  the  headquarters  were  transferred  to  Buf- 
falo Lowry  was  made  district  secretary  of  the  com- 
mittee for  the  Ohio  district.  He  was  unable  to  attend 
the  large  convention  at  Troy  in  1859,  but  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Central  Committee  prepared  an  essay  on 
"The  System  of  the  Confederation."  Lowry  pointed 
out  that  the  isolated  situation  of  the  early  societies 
and  their  need  of  information  and  help  were  the  chief 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  241 

reasons  for  the  establishment  of  the  Confederation. 
He  enumerated  the  dif^ciilties  encountered  and 
stated  that  the  Confederation  was  based  on  two  prin- 
ciples: "first,  that  it  shall  not  legislate  for  nor  exercise 
authority  over  the  local  Associations;  second,  that 
the  Associations  of  which  it  is  composed  in  their  re- 
lation to  it  and  to  one  another  shall  be  placed  upon 
an  equal  and  independent  footing."  He  discussed 
the  advisory  function  of  the  convention  and  re- 
marked: "The  appointment  of  the  Central  Committee 
is  given  to  it  without  reserve  in  order  to  assure  to  the 
Associations  the  control  of  that  organ.  It  is  the 
manifest  design  of  the  convention  to  sustain  and  fos- 
ter by  its  influence  the  individual  Associations  rather 
than  to  aggrandize  the  Confederation." 

In  an  article  in  the  Young  Men  s  Christian  Journal 
(February,  1859,  p.  30)  Lowry  warns  against  the  dis- 
position to  divert  the  Associations  from  work  for 
young  men  into  an  organization  for  union  prayer 
meetings  and  lay  preaching.  He  says,  "The  novel  and 
interesting  nature  of  the  labors  referred  to  should  not 
be  allowed  to  obscure  the  peculiar  claims  of  young 
men  upon  organizations  especially  designed  for  their 
benefit."  It  is  obvious  that  Langdon  would  have 
had  one  supporter  if  Lowry  had  attended  the  Troy 
Convention  and  also  that  Lowry  did  not  approve  of 
the  general  evangelistic  work  which  the  Cincinnati 
Association  was  then  promoting.  In  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Journal  in  September,  1859,  follow- 
ing the  Troy  Convention,  Lowry  discussed  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Association  to  the  Church.  He  advocated 
more  clearly  than  most  of  his  contemporaries  that  the 
field  should  be  limited  to  young  men.  He  was  insist- 
ent that  a  special  agency  was  needed  and  that  it  did 
not  interfere  with  the  prerogative  of  the  Church  any 
more  than  did  the  Sunday  school  or  any  other  work 
carried  on  by  loyal  laymen.     He  asserts,  "Generally 


242  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

those  who  have  been  most  conspicuous  in  the  Asso- 
ciation have  been  among  the  foremost  in  the  labors 
of  their  respective  churches." 

Low^ry  in  1859  visited  the  parent  Association  at 
London  and  the  Associations  at  Dublin,  Belfast,  and 
Paris. 

Sec.  35. — H.  Thane  Miller 

No  man  of  this  decade  w^as  regarded  with  more 
affection  or  was  destined  to  have  so  long  a  period  of 
service  in  the  Association  as  H,  Thane  Miller  of  Cin- 
cinnati, who  began  his  contact  with  the  convention  in 
his  home  city  in  1856  and  continued  it  until  his  death 
forty  years  later  in  1896.  During  the  greater  part  of 
these  years  Miller  was  blind  and  yet  with  an  abound- 
ing cheerfulness  and  apparently  unhindered  by  his 
affliction  he  presided  at  both  state  and  international 
conventions,  addressed  meetings,  and  served  on  com- 
mittees. He  was  most  effective  as  a  lay  evangelist 
and  as  a  solo  singer  of  gospel  songs.  He  brought  a 
spiritual  enthusiasm  into  the  Association  movement. 
He  allied  himself  unreservedly  with  the  cause  and, 
while  he  led  in  the  general  evangelistic  work  of  the 
days  before  the  Civil  War,  he  adapted  himself  with- 
out difficulty  to  the  fourfold  work  for  yoimg  men 
championed  later  by  Brainerd  and  McBurney. 

During  the  fifties  he  advocated  "the  general  prop- 
agation of  the  Gospel"  for  all  classes,  which  was  so 
earnestly  opposed  by  Langdon.  At  his  first  conven- 
tion in  1856  at  Cincinnati  he  appealed  from  President 
Langdon's  decision  that  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion forbade  the  convention  passing  on  the  evangeli- 
cal test  for  active  membership. 

Upon  adjournment  of  the  convention  he  was 
elected  to  fill  a  vacancy  on  the  new  Central  Commit- 
tee located  at  Cincinnati.  He  became  its  chairman 
and  served  in  this  capacity  for  two  years.     He  did 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  243 

not  attend  the  conventions  at  Montreal  and  Rich- 
mond but  he  did  attend  the  convention  at  Charleston 
following  the  revival  of  1857  and  1858.  At  Charles- 
ton he  served  actively  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  the  Confederation  but  his  chief  interest  was  in 
urging  visitation  by  members  of  the  Central  Com- 
mittee. This  he  began  personally  upon  returning 
home  when  he  became  secretary  for  the  Ohio  district 
(Quarterly  Reporter,  1858,  July,  p.  75).  A  "Christian 
mass  meeting"  was  called  by  the  Cincinnati  Associa- 
tion to  hear  reports  of  the  Charleston  Convention. 
This  was  attended  by  from  two  to  three  thousand 
people.  ]\Iiller,  then  president  of  the  Association,  pre- 
sidQd.  At  this  meeting  it  was  decided  to  form  a  "uni- 
versal Christian  union"  to  promote  evangelistic  meet- 
ings. INIiller  became  president  of  this  union.  The 
eleventh  annual  report  of  the  Cincinnati  Association 
(1859)  recounts  experiences  so  typical  of  the  influ- 
ence of  the  revival  that  they  are  here  recorded 
{Young  Men's  Christian  Journal,  1859,  p.  37): 

"Like  other  Associations  the  past  year  the  Cincin- 
nati Association  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  great 
means  made  use  of  in  this  country  to  carry  the  gos- 
pel to  the  masses  and  the  use  of  which  affords  the  best 
evidence  of  good  results  claiming  to  arise  from  the 
extended  revival  of  the  past  year. 

"The  principal  work  of  this  society  .  .  .  has  been 
that  known  all  over  the  land  as  the  'Union  Tabernacle 
Movement.'  .  .  .  The  plan  of  preaching  under  can- 
vas was  first  proposed  and  attempted  by  the  Phila- 
delphia Association  who  dedicated  their  first  tent  on 
the  first  day  of  May  (1858)." 

The  Cincinnati  tent  was  largely  devoted  to  "lay 
preaching."  During  the  summer  over  one  hundred 
services  addressed  by  laymen  were  conducted.  When 
cold  weather  arrived  halls  were  rented  and  the  meet- 
ings continued. 


244  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

The  next  step  of  the  Cincinnati  Association  was 
to  organize  evangelistic  teams  or  delegations  to  tour 
neighboring  towns  and  cities  and  even  whole  states. 
Meetings  were  held  at  county  seats  and  local  teams 
organized  to  promote  gospel  meetings  in  all  sections 
of  the  county.  "In  every  place  the  meetings  have 
been  thronged  and  the  labors  of  the  brethren  attended 
with  great  success.  Dead  professors  have  been 
awakened,  young  Christians  encouraged,  and  a  fresh 
zeal  in  the  cause  of  Sabbath  schools  inspired." 

The  Young  Men  s  Christian  Journal  in  December, 
1859,  in  referring  to  this  work  says,  "In  our  judg- 
ment it  proves  the  Cincinnati  Association  to  be  the 
best  organization  of  the  kind  in  the  country." 

The  revival  and  those  promoting  it  had  carried 
the  Association  cause  so  far  away  from  the  ideals 
advocated  by  Langdon  and  Neff  that  an  Association 
conducting  state-wide  evangelistic  campaigns  and 
"Union  Tabernacle  Meetings"  for  the  masses  was 
recognized  by  the  official  organ  as  the  standard  As- 
sociation of  America. 


Sec.  36. — George  H.  Stuart 

George  H.  Stuart,  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  was 
the  most  prominent  business  man  in  America  identi- 
fied in  the  early  days  with  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  He  was  twice  invited  into  the  National 
Cabinet  but  declined.  He  was  active  in  religious 
work,  became  chairman  of  the  Central  Committee 
when  its  headquarters  were  established  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1860,  and  during  the  Civil  War  rendered  the 
Association  and  the  cause  of  the  soldiers  untold  ser- 
vice as  chairman  of  the  "United  States  Christian 
Commission."  He  was  one  of  the  eight  American 
delegates  at  the  Paris  Conference  of  1855. 

He  was  one  of  the   founders  of  the   Philadelphia 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  245 

Association  in  1854,  became  its  first  president,  and 
continued  in  that  oftice  during-  the  entire  pre-war 
period.  Both  in  temperament  and  experience  he 
came  into  sharp  opposition  to  Langdon.  With  H. 
Thane  Miller  and  many  other  laymen  he  developed  a 
deep  interest  in  evangelistic  effort.  The  revival  of 
1857-1858  found  him  ready  to  take  a  leading  part  and 
he  brought  the  Philadelphia  Association  into  it  with 
enthusiasm. 

On  March  18,  1858,  as  chairman  of  the  noon  prayer 
meeting  at  Jayne's  Hall,  Philadelphia,  he  sent  a  greet- 
ing by  telegram  to  the  Fulton  Street  noon  meeting 
in  New  York.  "To  Mr.  W.  Wetmore,  Fulton  Street 
Meeting — Jayne's  Hall — Daily  Prayer  Meeting  is 
crowded,  upwards  of  3,000  present,  with  one  heart 
and  mind  they  glorify  our  Father  in  heaven  for 
the  mighty  work  he  is  doing  in  our  city.  .  .  .  Grace, 
mercy,  and  peace  be  with  you."  ("Noon  Prayer 
Meeting  of  the  North  Dutch  Church,"  1858,  p.  75.) 

This  meeting  began  in  a  small  way  in  Philadelphia 
in  a  church  in  November,  1857.  The  February  fol- 
lowing it  was  transferred  to  Jayne's  Hall  and  imme- 
diately became  largely  attended.  One  of  the  attend- 
ants of  the  time  described  it  as  follows  ("The  Noon 
Praver  Meeting  of  the  North  Dutch  Church,"  1858. 
p.  273)  : 

"The  sight  is  now  grand  and  solemn.  The  hall  is 
immensely  high.  In  the  rear,  elegantly  ornamented 
boxes  extend  from  the  ceiling  in  a  semi-circular  form 
around  the  stage  or  platform ;  and  on  the  stage,  and 
filling  the  seats,  aisles,  and  galleries,  three  thousand 
souls  at  once  on  one  w^eek-day  after  another,  at  its 
busiest  hour,  bow  before  God  in  prayer  for  the  re- 
vival of  His  work.  The  men  and  women,  ministers 
and  people,  of  all  denominations  or  of  none,  all  are 
welcome — all  gather. 

"There  is  no  noise,  no  confusion.     A  lavman  con- 


246  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

ducts  the  meeting.  Any  suitable  person  may  pray 
or  speak  to  the  audience  for  five  minutes  only.  If  he 
do  not  bring  his  prayer  or  remarks  to  a  close  in  that 
time,  a  bell  is  touched  and  he  gives  way.  One  or  two 
verses  of  the  most  spiritual  hymns  go  up  'like  the 
sound  of  many  waters';  requests  for  prayer  for  indi- 
viduals are  then  made,  one  layman  or  minister  suc- 
ceeds another  in  perfect  order  and  quiet,  and  after  a 
space  which  seems  a  few  minutes — so  strange,  so  ab- 
sorbing, so  interesting  is  the  scene — the  leader  an- 
nounces that  it  is  one  o'clock,  and  punctual  to  the 
moment  a  minister  pronounces  the  benediction,  and 
the  immense  audience  slowly,  quietly,  and  in  perfect 
order,  pass  from  the  hall,  some  minister  remaining 
to  converse  in  a  small  room  off  the  platform  with  any 
who  may  desire  spiritual  instruction. 

"No  man  there,  no  man,  perhaps,  living  or  dead, 
has  ever  seen  anything  like  it.  On  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost Peter  preached;  Luther  preached;  and  Living- 
stone, Wesley,  and  Whitefield !  Great  spiritual 
movements  have  been  usually  identified  with  some 
eloquent  voice.  But  no  name,  except  the  Name  that 
is  above  every  name,  is  identified  with  this  meeting. 
'Yes,'  said  a  clergyman,  on  the  following  Sabbath, 
'think  of  the  prayer  meetings  this  last  week  at  Jayne's 
Hall,  literally  and  truly  unprecedented  and  unparal- 
leled in  the  history  of  any  city  or  any  age;  wave  after 
wave  pouring  in  from  the  closet,  from  the  family,  from 
the  church,  from  the  union  prayer  meetings,  until  the 
great  tidal  or  tenth  wave  rolled  its  mighty  surge 
upon  us,  swallowing  up  for  the  time  being  all  sepa- 
rate sects,  creeds,  denominations,  in  the  one  great, 
glorious,  and  only  Church  of  the  Holy  Ghost.'  " 

While  this  revival  largely  promoted  by  the  Asso- 
ciation was  in  progress,  Langdon  had  returned  from 
visiting  the  European  Associations,  had  been  or- 
dained to  the   Episcopal  ministry  and   assumed  his 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  247 

iirst  post  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  now  foreign  secre- 
tary of  the  Central  Committee  and  sought  to  ally 
himself  with  the  Philadelphia  Association.  He  states 
("Early  Story  of  the  Confederation,"  p.  40)  : 

"I  had  returned  from  Europe,  for  my  part,  with 
very  clear  conceptions  of  the  Association  as  a  body 
of  Christian  young  men,  whose  errand  was  to  young 
men;  of  their  true  sphere  as  that  of  Christian  work 
to  be  done  by  young  men  for  young  men.* 

*  There  is  no  hint  in  these  historic  pages  that  the  Association  had 
discovered  the  boy.  The  young  adult  was  well  known  to  Langdon 
and  his  period.  The  ardent  supposition  of  the  Stuarts,  the  Thane 
Millers  and  of  Eells,  that  the  Association  should  not  be  limited  to 
young  men  even,  but  should  be  a  general  evangelistic  agency,  gives 
no  prophecy  of  its  final  purpose  and  direction. 

Were  the  early  founders  of  the  Association  Movement  mistaken 
in  their  psychology? 

Did  they  think  that  character  was  formed  after  a  young  man 
reaches  his  majority,  or  before? 

The  history  of  the  Movement  shows  that  they  concentrated  their 
means  upon  providing  Association  buildings  for  adults.  For  long 
decades  the  minds  of  the  founders  of  the  Association  were  concen- 
trated upon  the  establishment  and  progress  of  the  Association 
amongst  men. 

In  the  operation  of  the  early  Associations  the  religious  work  was 
largely  one  of  reformation.  The  central  idea  was  to  "snatch  brands 
from  the  burning."  Sunday  meetings  inside  the  Y  buildings  and 
outside  were  for  the  purposes  of  reformation.  The  appeals  were 
of  that  evangelistic  nature  which  deals  with  men  who  have  "gone 
wrong."  Much  of  it  was  of  the  nature  of  the  present-day  city 
mission  work.  The  Association  was  largely  made  up  of  two  ele- 
ments— a  class  of  privileged  men  who  had  maintained  their  self- 
respect  and  the  larger  group  of  unassimilated  men  who  were  "going 
wrong." 

The  psychology  of  all  this  was  to  the  efifect  that  the  Association 
was  a  reform  movement  in  personal  character,  that  it  was  a  rescue 
service  in  the  community.  Men  did  not  stop  to  think  seriously  in 
those  days,  as  far  as  the  records  show,  of  the  infinite  waste  in  human 
character  of  attempting  a  local  and  national  program  primarily  upon 
the  "reform"  basis. 

The  new  psychology  is  nearer  to  the  heart  of  God.    It  is  nearer  to 

His  purposes   for  mankind.     The  Association  of   the   future  must 

concentrate  its  forces  and  its  program  upon  formation  of  character, 

rather  than  the  salvaging  of  derelicts. 

What  does  this  mean   if  applied  practically  to  the  Association's 


248  YOUNG  MEX'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

"Of  the  Association  at  Philadelphia,  George  H. 
Stuart  was  at  that  time  the  president,  the  representa- 
tive man,  and  the  leading  spirit.  Not  one  of  our  or- 
ganizations was  ready  to  go  further  than  this  society 
in  any  and  in  every  good  work  and  with  what  were 
now  my  own  clear  conceptions  of  the  special  objects 
of  the  institution  and  my  strong  convictions  of  both 
the  duty  and  the  necessity  of  restricting  ourselves  to 
the  definite  sphere  of  a  specific  work.  Nowhere  could 
I  have  found  myself  more  completely  out  of  accord 
with  the  local  Associations.  In  fact,  I  now,  on  the 
threshold  of  my  own  ministry,  for  the  first  time  heard 
it  freely  claimed  that  our  Associations  were  called 
to  enter  upon  the  whole  work  of  preaching  the  gos- 

program  and  extension?  It  means  that  boys  and  men  under  twenty- 
one,  rather  tlian  men  who  have  passed  their  majority,  must  receive 
the  bulk  of  the  Association's  attention. 

Why?  In  the  present  age  the  answer  is  simple  and  so  clear  that 
the  man  who  "runs  may  read."  A  youth's  time  may  be  said  to  be 
divided  into  three  almost  equal  parts — eight  hours  of  schooling  and 
study,  or  work,  each  day,  eight  hours  of  sleep  and  eight  hours  of 
undirected  time.  It  is  the  latter  one-third  of  a  youth's  time  which 
the  Association  must  be  qualified  to  help  direct,  the  one-third  when 
the  boy  is  not  under  his  schoolmasters,  neither  is  he  under  the 
discipline  of  the  home. 

The  average  home  is  not  equipped  to  absorb  the  recreation  hours 
of  youth ;  neither  the  parlor,  the  library,  the  dining  room,  the  cellar 
nor  the  bedrooms  are  equipped  for  recreation  purposes,  and  yet  the 
youth  craves  recreation  and  must  have  it  for  his  normal  growth 
m.ore  than  any  other  elements  of  desire  in  his  day  of  twenty-four 
hours.  The  appeal  that  is  made  to  him  is  not  primarily  one  of 
reformation,  but  one  of  formation.  He  is  in  that  exuberant,  opti- 
mistic, forward-looking,  impetuous  period  when  all  the  habits  and 
processes  of  life  are  going  through  the  selective  process.  He  is 
then  the  hero  worshipper  and  the  idealist. 

The  early  Associations,  by  and  large,  largely  ignored  the  youth 
in  all  his  period  of  struggle  and  concentrated  their  attention  upon 
him  after  he  had  reached  his  majority  and,  for  the  most  part, 
selected  his  occupation  and  was  soon  to  prepare  his  own  home.  A 
tremendous  amount  of  reformatory-  work  was  necessary  because  of 
the  bad  starts.  If  the  start  had  been  right,  how  much  less  heart- 
burning and  also  sometimes  futile  effort  to  change  character  which 
had  become  set. — R.  E.  L. 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  249 

pel  and  of  evangelizing  the  world  for  which  the 
Church  and  the  ministry  had  proven  unequal. 

"At  a  meeting  of  this  Association,  late  in  1858,  I 
endeavored  to  combat  this  tendency  but  found  the 
whole  society  against  me ;  my  position  being  utterly 
condemned  by  everyone." 

Stuart,  as  one  of  the  foremost  Association  leaders, 
went  as  a  delegate  to  the  Troy  Convention  of  1859. 
He  was  immediately  chosen  president,  being  nomi- 
nated by  a  committee  of  which  Cephas  Brainerd  of 
New  York  was  chairman.  Stuart  presided  over  the 
debates  of  this  convention,  which  continued  through 
five  days.  This  convention  was  filled  with  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  great  revival  and  centered  its  chief 
thought  on  the  mission  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association. 

This  the  Troy  convention  decided  was  to  be  evan- 
gelization of  the  masses. 

Stuart,  for  the  American  Sunday  School  Union, 
presented  each  delegate  with  a  copy  of  "The  Union, 
Prayer  Meeting  Tune  Book.'"  The  Philadelphia  As- 
sociation also  gave  to  each  delegate  a  copy  of  a  book 
on  the  revival  entitled  "Pentecost." 

It  was  into  the  hands  of  men  like  Miller  of  Cincin- 
nati and  Stuart  of  Philadelphia  that  the  leadership 
of  the  Association  passed  from  men  like  Langdon, 
Rhees,  Neff,  and  Lowry.  Ever  since  its  inception 
there  have  been  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation these  two  types  of  leaders  representing  these 
two  ideals  for  the  organization,  George  Williams, 
Miller,  Stuart,  Moody,  and  men  of  their  spirit  have 
been  evangelistic  in  temper,  interested  in  immediate 
religious  transformation,  regarding  the  Association, 
the  Church,  and  all  religious  efTort  as  a  means  for 
creating  religious  interest.  These  men  have  given 
spiritual  pov.-er  to  the  movement,  awakened  enthusi- 


250  YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

asm,  and  led  men  to  become  active  workers.     They 
were  men  who  were  strongly  emotional. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  have  been  the  leaders 
who  have  seen  the  significance  and  relationships  of 
the  organization,  the  fundamental  necessity  for  a  per- 
manent work,  and  the  supreme  value  of  a  program 
of  religious  education  for  the  development  of  the 
whole  man — Langdon,  Brainerd,  McBurney,  Morse, 
and  men  of  their  insight  have  been  the  statesmen 
of  the  Association  movement,  who  have  directed  its 
course,  developed  its  program,  and  built  it  into  the 
structure  of  modern  life.* 

Sec.  37. — Howard  Crosby 

No  picture  of  the  dramatis  persona  of  the  Confed- 
eration period  would  be  complete  without  reference 
to  Howard  Crosby  and  Richard  McCormick  of  New 
York  City.  In  view  of  the  conspicuous  leadership  of 
the  New  York  Association  since  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War,  the  reluctance  of  that  Association  to  take 
any  part  in  the  national  affairs  of  the  organization 
at  the  time  of  the  Confederation  is  the  more  notice- 
able. 

Howard  Crosby  was  the  man  chiefly  responsible 
for  this  attitude.  His  career  shows  him  to  have  been 
a  man  of  leadership  and  of  vigorous  intellectual  life. 
He  is  perhaps  the  most  widely  known  man  of  any  of 
the  active  leaders  of  this  period.  Professor  Crosby 
was  twenty-six  years  of  age  w^hen  the  New  York 
Association  was  founded  in  1852  and  was  at  that  time 
professor  of  Greek  at  New  York  University,  his  Alma 
Mater. 

*  Shurtleff  as  the  social  mind  of  the  movement  had  an  important 
influence ;  Mott  as  the  force  for  world-extension ;  Crackel  as  the 
continuous  demonstrator  of  the  necessity  and  practicability  of  work 
for  boys,  and  Robinson  as  the  national  pioneer,  added  the  Boy  Age 
to  what  had  previously  been  a  young  men's  program. — R.  E.  L. 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  251 

In  1861  he  entered  the  ministry.  For  twenty- 
eight  years  he  was  pastor  of  the  Fourth  Avenue 
Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York  City  and  later 
chancellor  of  New  York  University.  The  Fourth 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  was  in  the  same  city 
block  with  the  first  Association  building  erected  in 
1869.  Professor  Crosby  became  one  of  the  vice- 
presidents  of  the  Association  at  its  organization  in 
1852.  The  following  year  he  was  chosen  president 
and  served  in  that  office  for  three  years  during  the 
period  when  Langdon  and  his  associates  were  seek- 
ing to  establish  the  Confederation. 

Professor  Crosby  was  the  chief  opponent  of  this 
undertaking  and  succeeded  in  keeping  the  New  York 
Association  out  of  the  Confederation.*  It  was  due 
largely  to  Professor  Crosby's  strong  advocacy  that 
this  Association  centered  on  its  local  affairs.  The 
New  York  Association  became  absorbed  in  work  for 
young  men  by  young  men  and  because  of  its  isola- 
tion from  the  Confederation  and  the  extent  of  its  own 
field  was  never  led  away  into  general  evangelistic 
effort.  This  was  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  revival 
of  1857  and  1858  arose  largely  under  the  leadership 
of  the  New  York  society. 

In  his  first  report  (Second  New  York  City  Report, 
May,  1854),  one  month  before  the  Buffalo  Conven- 
tion,  Professor   Crosby   said:   "A   proposition   for  a 

*  There  have  continued  to  be  prominent  Association  men  who 
followed  the  example  of  Mr.  Crosby  and  strenuously  fought  for  the 
limitation  of  the  prerogative  of  federation  or,  as  it  is  known  in 
modern  days,  "supervision."  Several  international  conventions  in 
the  white  heat  of  discussion  revolved  around  this  issue.  The  theory 
to  this  day  is  that  supervision,  as  over  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations,  represents  "overlook"  only.  We  still  lack  a  democratic 
system  of  representation,  of  apportionment  of  support,  of  authority 
and  of  control  of  that  authority  by  the  local  communities.  There 
are  elements  of  strength  in  the  lack  of  centralization,  but  it  must 
be  recognized  also  that  there  are  elements  of  continuous  weakness. — 
R.  E.  L. 


252  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

convention  of  delegates  from  all  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  in  the  United  States  was 
lately  made  to  this  Association  from  a  sister  society 
with  the  main  object  of  considering  the  propriety  of 
establishing  a  central  organization  and  a  central  or- 
gan. As  such  centralization  seemed  to  militate  with 
the  necessarily  local  character  of  our  field  of  effort  .  .  . 
this  proposition  was  declined  by  us  as  well  as  by  simi- 
lar Associations  of  other  cities.*' 

A  year  later,  in  his  second  report,  Professor  Crosby 
saw  no  reason  for  changing  his  opinion.  He  said, 
''We  desire  to  avoid  anything  like  national  centrali- 
zation in  a  work  so  purely  local  as  ours."  He  did, 
however,  accept  the  Central  Committee  as  a  commit- 
tee of  correspondence. 

His  fear  of  disruption  of  a  national  organization 
over  the  slavery  issue  was  an  equally  compelling  mo- 
tive with  Professor  Crosby.  This  is  seen  in  his  cor- 
respondence with  Langdon,  whom  he  always  treated 
with  the  utmost  courtesv. 


Sec.  38. — Richard  C.  IvIcCormick 

During  this  period  Richard  C.  McCormick  was  the 
member  of  the  New  York  Association  most  interested 
in  the  progress  of  the  movement  at  large.  McCor- 
mick became  a  distinguished  man.  He  began  busi- 
ness life  as  a  broker  in  New  York  in  1856.  One  of 
his  great  services  to  work  for  young  men  was  edit- 
ing, during  the  two  years  1858-1859,  one  of  the  first 
monthly  publications  devoted  to  the  affairs  of  young 
men.  This  was  entitled  the  Young  Mens  Magazine 
and  had  a  considerable  section  in  each  issue  devoted 
to  the  American  and  foreign  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations.  This  activity  led  McCormick  into  the 
editorial  department  of  the  New  York  Evening  Post. 

During  the  Civil  ^^'ar  ^^TcCormick  was  an  active 


LEADERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION  253 

war  correspondent.  Following  the  war  he  was  drawn 
away  from  Association  affairs  by  the  acceptance 
of  an  appointment  as  governor  of  the  territory 
of  Arizona,  w'here  he  resided  for  many  years.  He 
became  active  in  national  political  life,  at  one  time 
serving  as  assistant  secretary  of  the  treasury  and  later 
commissioner-general  to  the  Paris  Exposition.  He 
was  invited  to  accept  the  mission  to  Mexico  but  de- 
clined. McCormick  also  produced  a  number  of  im- 
portant volumes. 

In  May,  1853,  McCormick  was  elected  correspond- 
ing secretary  of  the  New  York  Association  and  was 
brought  into  contact  with  Langdon,  who  held  the 
same  office  in  the  Washington  Association.  He  did 
not  share  Professor  Crosby's  opposition  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Confederation.  In  1854,  having 
learned  of  McCormick's  plan  to  visit  Europe,  Presi- 
dent Crosby  appointed  him  as  a  delegate  to  the  Asso- 
ciations abroad.  He  was  the  first  American  to  make 
an  extended  tour  of  the  European  Associations,  visit- 
ing many  in  the  United  Kingdom,  France,  Switzer- 
land, and  Germany. 

Upon  his  return  McCormick  again  became  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  the  New  York  Association,  in 
w^hich  position  he  served  until  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War.  He  and  one  other  delegate  were  the  first 
members  from  the  New  York  Association  to  attend 
an  international  convention.  ^McCormick  sat  as  a 
corresponding  delegate  at  the  Montreal  Convention 
in  1856.  Here  he  reported  the  work  of  the  New  York 
Association  and  was  invited  by  the  convention  to  give 
an  address. 

At  the  Troy  Convention  in  1859  McCormick,  in 
spite  of  his  friendship  for  Langdon.  sided  with  those 
who  wished  the  Association  to  enter  upon  the  w^ork 
of  general  evangelization. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  FIRST  INTERNATIONAL 
ADMINISTRATION 

Sec.  39. — Events  of  the  Period 

With  the  background  we  have  studied  in  mind  we 
must  now  consider  the  progress  of  events  of  this 
period. 

The  following  chart  of  the  administrations  of  the 
various  Central  Committees  will  give  a  bird's-eye 
view : 

First  Central  Committee,  Washington,  1854-1855. 
Personnel — Wm.     Chauncy    Langdon,    General 
Secretary;  Wm.  J.  Rhees,  Zalmon  Richards. 
Confederation  established  by  the  ratification  of 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  by  twenty-five 
Associations  February  20,  1855.    New  York 
City  was  counted  as  one  of  these. 
Second  Convention,  Cincinnati,  September,  1855. 
President,  Wm.  Chauncy  Langdon. 
Associations  represented,  21;  delegates,  52. 

Second  Central  Committee,  Cincinnati,  1855-1857. 
Personnel — H.   Thane    Miller,    Chairman;    Wm. 

H.  NefT,  and  Samuel  Lowry,  Jr. 
Quarterly  Reporter  issued  January,  1856. 
Third  Convention,  Montreal,  June,  1856. 

President,  Wm.   H.   NefT;   delegate  to  Euro- 
pean Associations,  Wm.  Chauncy  Langdon. 
Associations  represented,  26;  delegates,  87. 


THE  FIRST  IXTERNATIONAL  ADMINISTRATION   255 

Fourth  Convention,  Richmond,  May,  1857. 
President,  Norton  A.  Halbcrt  (Buffalo). 
Associations  represented,  17;  delegates,  51. 
The  Great  Revival,  October,  1857. 

Third  Central  Committee,  Buffalo,  1858-1859. 

Personnel — Oscar  Cobb,  Chairman;  N.  A.  Hal- 
bert,  Edmund  A.  Swan,  Wm.  M.  Gray; 
Foreign  Secretary,  Wm,  Chauncy  Langdon 
(Philadelphia). 

Fifth  Convention,  Charleston,  April,  1858. 
President,  Fred  A.  Sheldon,  Troy. 
Associations  represented,  24;  delegates,  97. 
Student  Associations  founded  at  Universities 
of  IMichigan  and  Virginia. 

Sixth  Convention,  Troy,  July,  1859. 

President,  George  H.  Stuart  (Philadelphia). 
Controversy  over  the  true  aim  and  field  of  the 
Association  and  its  relation  to  the  Church. 
Associations  represented,  72;  delegates,  289. 

Fourth  Central  Committee,  Richmond,  1860. 

Personnel — J.  B.  Watkins,  Chairman;  William 
P.  Munford,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Seventh  Convention,  New  Orleans,  April,  1860. 
President,  Wm.  P.  Munford. 
Physical  training  endorsed. 
Associations  represented,  40;  delegates,  128. 

Fifth  Central  Committee,  Philadelphia,  1861-1865. 
Personnel — George  H.   Stuart,  Chairman;  John 
Wanamaker,  Richard  C.  McCormick  (New 
York),  Corresponding  Secretary. 

Eighth  Convention  called  for  St.  Louis;  aban- 
doned because  of  outbreak  of  Civil  War. 


256  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

Sec,  40. — The  Washington  Administration 
June,  1854,  to  September,  1855 

The  great  task  of  the  First  Central  Committee  was 
to  carry  out  the  mandate  of  the  Buffalo  Convention 
and  put  the  Confederation  on  its  feet. 

The  fear  of  disruption  over  the  slavery  issue  and 
the  fear  of  dictation  and  control  by  a  central  author- 
ity wQTe  the  two  great  obstacles  in  the  pathway  of 
establishing  an  international  confederation  with  an 
executive  committee  for  supervision  and  promotion. 
These  two  issues  were  present  in  the  minds  of  the 
leaders  of  every  convention.  They  determined  the 
appointment  of  ofificers  and  committeemen  and  the 
character  of  resolutions  and  convention  programs. 
The  statesmanship  of  Langdon  was  assiduously  and 
adroitly  devoted  to  avoiding  these  two  rocks  and  to 
steering  his  little  craft  down  the  stream  and  out  into 
an  as  yet  uncharted  sea. 

Delegates  returning  from  the  Buffalo  Convention 
secured  the  ratification  at  once  of  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  by  the  Associations  of  Cincinnati,  St. 
Louis,  and  Washington.  The  AA'ashington  Central 
Committee  sent  out  its  first  circular  within  three 
weeks  after  the  adjournment  of  the  convention  and 
before  the  end  of  July  favorable  action  was  taken  by 
the  Associations  at  Buffalo,  Louisville,  Toronto,  New 
Orleans,  Pittsburgh,  and  Quincy.  Four  others,  in- 
cluding Philadelphia,  accepted  the  Confederation  dur- 
ing the  summer,  thirteen  in  all. 

The  establishment  of  the  Confederation  had  been 
made  dependent  upon  its  acceptance  by  at  least 
twenty-two  local  Associations.  Those  which  had 
acted  favorably  had  practically  all  been  represented  at 
the  Buffalo  Convention.  Brooklyn  declined  to  accept 
and  an  article  appeared  in  the  Independent  condemn- 
ing the  idea  of  a  Confederation.     The  Boston  Asso- 


THE  FIRST  INTERNATIONAL  ADMINISTRATION   257 

elation,  although  its  delegate  had  withdrawn  his  op- 
position to  the  Confederation,  voted  not  to  enter  the 
organization. 

It  was  evident  that  some  new  effort  was  necessary 
unless  the  plan  was  to  he  abandoned.  Langdon  and 
Neff  met  in  New  York  City  in  August  and  called  on 
several  leaders  of  that  society  with  no  apparent  re- 
sult. The  report  of  the  Buffalo  Convention  appeared 
in  August  but  did  not  seem  to  advance  the  cause. 
McCartee  of  New  York  stated  that  the  chief  objec- 
tion raised  by  that  Association  was  against  the  term 
"Central"  Committee  on  the  ground  that  this  implied 
control  of  the  local  Associations.  He  wrote  "that  a 
judicious  friendly  course  on  the  part  of  the  commit- 
tee seconding  the  efforts  of  those  in  New  York  who 
favored  the  Confederation,  might  disarm  those  who 
seemed  over-prudent  in  the  matter." 

Brooks  of  Toronto  now  wrote  that  that  society 
would  withdraw  its  approval  unless  Christian  slaves 
were  made  eligible  to  membership  in  all  local  Asso- 
ciations. Langdon  states  ("Early  Story  of  the  Con- 
federation," Year  Book,  1888,  p.^37)  : 

"At  this  day  it  would  be  very  difficult  for  anyone 
whose  memory  does  not  antedate  the  war  of  1861- 
1865  to  enter  understandingly  into  the  views  and 
feelings  inevitably  involved  on  either  side  in  such  an 
issue. 

"I  instinctively  felt  that  this  was,  perhaps,  the  true 
crisis  of  the  Confederation.  The  causes  which  had 
obstructed  the  calling  of  a  convention,  even  to  con- 
sider the  mutual  relations  of  the  Associations,  and 
which  made  so  many  of  them  averse  to  recognize  any 
formal  relations  at  all,  now  presented  themselves 
from  different  directions,  and  divested  of  all  side 
issues. 

"The  Canadian  and  probably  some  of  the  Northern 
Associations  were  now  unwilling  that  the  Confedera- 


258  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

tion  should  place  them  in  what  they  regarded  as  a 
false  position  in  respect  to  the  religious  consequences 
of  slavery — for  instance,  Toronto  and  Providence. 

"The  Southern  Associations,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  equally  sensitive  of  anything  w^hich  would  re- 
flect on  the  Christian  principle  with  which  they  con- 
formed to  the  social  and  political  conditions  under 
which  they  were  constituted  and  under  which  alone, 
of  course,  they  could  do  their  work.  Some  of  these, 
therefore,  were  unwilling  to  expose  themselves  to 
having  those  principles  called  in  question,  as  for  in- 
stance, Baltimore  and  Charleston,  and,  indeed,  the 
Association  in  New  Orleans  also,  whose  ratification 
was  based  on  their  confidence  in  those  who  had  se- 
lected Mr.  Helme  to  preside  at  the  Buffalo  Conven- 
tion and  who  had  suppressed  the  Holland  resolution. 
Still  again,  the  New  York  and  very  likely  other  As- 
sociations shrank  from  the  Confederation  as  from  an 
arena  in  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  escape  harm 
and  controversy  from  this  cause. 

"To  decide  either  way,  therefore,  on  the  issue  in- 
volved in  the  Toronto  ratification,  and  brought  be- 
fore us  by  Mr,  Brooks'  letter,  would  be  in  all  proba- 
bility to  shut  out  some  important  Associations  on  the 
one  side  or  the  other.  To  decide  at  all  would,  irre- 
spective of  the  character  of  that  decision,  be  an  act 
equally  unacceptable  to  those  societies  which  were 
jealous  of  any  authority  which  would  trespass  upon 
their  autonomy." 

It  was  evident  that  the  Central  Committee  must 
give  a  constructive  statement  of  the  significance  and 
scope  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  Langdon 
states  ("Early  Story  of  the  Confederation,"  p.  38) : 
"I  met  the  issue  simply  by  showing  that  the  Buffalo 
resolutions  did  not  provide  for  any  other  constitu- 
tion than  the  general  principles  which  they  them- 
selves set  forth ;  and  that  the  executive  committee 


THE  FIRST  INTERNATIONAL  ADMINISTRATION   259 

was  not  a  governing  function  authorized  to  assume 
any  control  but  rather  a  creature  of  the  confederated 
Associations  for  certain  definite  and  limited  pur- 
poses." 

In  order  to  formulate  the  committee's  ideas,  Cir- 
cular No.  2  was  issued  on  November  18,  1854.  Some 
of  its  paragraphs  are  as  follows:  "Dear  Brothers  in 
Christ — The  Central  Committee  have  learned  that 
there  exists  in  many  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations a  doubt  regarding  the  character  and  extent 
of  the  functions  and  jurisdiction  with  which  that  body 
has  been  invested,  which,  interfering  with  a  clear 
understanding  of  what  they  have  been  asked  to 
ratify,  has  necessarily  interfered  with  the  ratification 
itself.  This  doubt  the  committee  feel  it  is  due  equally 
to  such  Associations  and  themselves  that  they  should 
remove  by  declaring  their  construction  of  their  char- 
ter." 

"The  committee  is  .  .  .  not  a  ruling  power  but  an 
agent  through  which  a  number  of  Associations  may 
more  effectually  execute  any  project  in  which  they 
may  desire  to  unite;  not  their  controller  but  their 
creature.  .  .  . 

"The  proposed  union  is  an  alliance  rather  than  a 
Confederation.  .  .  .  The  bond  is  chiefly  a  spiritual 
one  and  the  attraction  which  holds  it  together  one  of 
declared  Christian  sympathy,  brotherhood,  and  love." 
Without  mentioning  the  slavery  issue  the  circular 
states,  "Requests  have  come  from  a  few  sources 
that  such  and  such  a  principle  should  be  embodied 
in  the  constitution  prepared  for  the  Confederation, 
but  the  committee  have  not  been  authorized  to  frame 
a  constitution  and  indeed  they  see  no  word  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  Buffalo  Convention  which  implied 
the  expected  existence  of  such  an  instrument." 

The  New  York  Association  then  accepted  the  Cen- 
tral Committee  as  a  means  of  correspondence  but  did 


260  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

not  fully  enter  the  Confederation.  Charleston,  S.  C, 
San  Francisco,  and  Montreal  voted  favorably  during 
the  winter  months. 

On  February  20,  1855,  Langdon  was  able  to  issue 
Circular  No.  3  of  the  first  Central  Committee,  an- 
nouncing the  establishment  of  the  Confederation. 
There  were  twenty-five  Associations  listed  as  uniting 
in  the  project. 

Toronto  soon  withdrew.  Montreal  was  intermit- 
tent in  its  support.  Boston,  Brooklyn,  and  Baltimore 
refused  to  enter  the  alliance.  New  York,  though  its 
name  was  announced,  never  participated. 

Buffalo,  Washington,  and  Cincinnati  and  three 
strong  Southern  Associations,  Richmond,  Charles- 
ton, and  New  Orleans,  gave  the  real  vitality  to  the 
movement  for  international  union.  Without  the 
efforts  of  these  six  Associations  the  Confederation 
would  have  ceased  to  exist. 

The  Central  Committee  now  devoted  itself  to 
welding  the  Associations  together  into  a  sympathetic 
fellowship.  A  system  of  correspondence  was  organ- 
ized both  with  the  American  Associations  and  those 
of  Europe.  The  North  American  Associations  were 
grouped  into  seven  districts  with  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  committee  stationed  in  each.  Some 
of  the  important  leaders  were  induced  to  accept 
these  positions,  among  them  Robert  McCartee  of 
New  York,  Charles  R.  Brookes  of  Toronto,  Zalmon 
Richards  of  Washington,  William  H.  Neff  of  Cincin- 
nati, and  George  W.  Helme  of  New  Orleans.  Lang- 
don was  indefatigable  in  spreading  information  re- 
garding the  movement  and  in  infusing  his  confidence 
that  it  was  to  become  a  great  world-wide  endeavor. 

An  invitation  was  received  from  Pastor  J.  Paul 
Cook,  then  president  of  the  Paris  Association,  invit- 
ing the  committee  to  send  delegates  to  the  first 
world's  convention.     George  H.  Stuart,  president  of 


rilE  FIRST  ISTERX'ATIOSAL  ADMINISTRATION   261 

the  Philadelphia  Association,  Rev.  Abel  Stevens,  vice- 
presitlent  of  the  New  York  Association,  and  six  other 
delegates  were  commissioned  and  attended  this 
gathering. 

One  of  Langdon's  most  valuable  services  was  the 
extended  report  which  he  prepared  and  sent  to  the 
Paris  Convention.  This  report  gives  a  survey  of  the 
American  Associations  and  the  history  of  the  found- 
ing of  the  Confederation.  It  was  published  in  both 
the  Paris  and  American  Convention  reports. 

One  of  the  important  duties  of  the  first  Central 
Committee  was  to  call  the  second  convention  of  the 
American  i\ssociations.  It  was  decided  to  invite  all 
the  Associations  to  send  delegates,  whether  members 
of  the  Confederation  or  not.  Four  Associations  com- 
peted for  the  privilege  of  entertaining  this  conven- 
tion, ^Montreal,  Cincinnati,  Charleston,  and  New 
Orleans.  Circular  No.  4  asks  for  a  vote  upon  these 
invitations  and  the  replies  showed  a  decided  majority 
for  Cincinnati.  This  invitation  was  accordingly  ac- 
cepted. 

Langdon  was  persistent  in  urging  the  claims  of  the 
Confederation  upon  Associations  which  neglected  or 
refused  to  ratify  its  articles.  In  Circular  No.  5,  in- 
viting Associations  to  send  delegates,  he  explains 
with  great  care  the  relations  of  the  convention  as 
well  as  of  the  Central  Committee  to  the  local  Asso- 
ciations. He  states :  "Since  much  misunderstanding 
concerning  the  character  of  these  conventions  and 
the  function  of  their  members  has  been  manifest  it 
appears  proper  to  the  committee  at  this  time  to  state 
the  views  held  by  a  majority  of  the  confederated  As- 
sociations as  well  as  by  themselves.  ...  It  appears 
scarcely  possible  to  make  it  plainer  than  it  is,  that 
the  Confederated  existence  is  intended  in  no  zvay,  at 
no  time,  under  no  circumstances,  and  in  no  relation 
whether  as  a  convention  or  a  Central  Committee  to 


262  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

advance  upon  the  local  character  of  any  Association; 
much  less  can  it  be  contemplated  that  one  society 
should  anywhere  in  convention  or  out  have  the  power 
of  interference  with  either  the  acts  or  the  attitude  of 
any  other."* 

This  later  influenced  Langdon's  attitude  as  to 
whether  the  International  convention  should  seek  to 
determine  the  conditions  of  membership  in  a  local 
Association  by  insisting  on  the  evangelical  basis.  He 
regarded  such  interference  as  an  invasion  of  local 
autonomy. 

Even  a  more  tactful  and  more  persistent  man  than 
Langdon  could  hardly  have  expected  to  urge  an  in- 
ternational union  such  as  he  proposed  without  arous- 
ing public  opposition  and  personal  antagonisms. 
Some  opposed  the  Confederation  from  objections  to 
its  principles  and  some  from  the  belief  that  Langdon 
was  seeking  either  reputation  or  a  salaried  position 
for  himself.  Accordingly  Langdon  determined  to  re- 
sign from  further  participation  in  Association  affairs 
and  he  also  became  convinced  that  it  would  promote 
the  stability  of  the  Central  Committee  to  have  its 
headquarters  transferred  to  another  city.  His  own 
story  of  this  transfer  is  full  of  interest. 

He  says  ("Early  Story  of  the  Confederation,"  p. 
43): 

"My  motives  in  all  that  I  had  so  far  done  and  tried 
to  do,  had  been  severely  characterized  in  certain  so- 

*  The  inter-Association  polity  has  continued  to  recognize  individ- 
ualism rather  than  collectivism,  even  to  the  extent  of  imposing  severe 
handicap  upon  the  general  progress  of  the  organization.  Lack  of 
cohesion,  inability  to  function  collectively,  the  absence  of  a  national 
voice,  the  lack  of  support  for  great  causes  of  human  progress,  char- 
acterize the  Association  movement  with  some  exceptions  to  this  day, 
but  it  has  on  the  other  hand  preserved  all  of  the  advantages  of 
individualism  in  the  local  units,  chief  amongst  which  are  the  belief 
that  independency  is  more  likely  to  develop  local  leadership,  inven- 
tion and  perhaps  genius,  and  that  economy  is  said  to  be  promoted 
by  the  necessity  of  individual  survival. — R.  E.  L. 


THE  FIRST  INTERNATIONAL  ADMINISTRATION   263 

cieties — especially  in  those  of  New  York  and  New 
Orleans.  However  decided  in  his  dissent  from  my 
policy,  Professor  Crosby  had,  of  course,  ever  given 
expression  to  that  dissent  with  entire  Christian  cour- 
tesy. But  by  others  it  had  been  publicly  charged  at 
the  very  meeting  at  which  the  New  York  society  had 
ratified  the  Buffalo  resolutions  and  since  that  there 
was  little  real  object  in  the  scheme  but  my  own  per- 
sonal aim  to  open  an  arena  for  my  own  ambition,  and 
this  judgment  accepted  by  some  Southerners  then 
present,  was  afterwards  brought  up  against  the  plan 
and  against  me  in  New  Orleans. 

"To  Air.  Helme  ...  I  therefore  wrote:  'I  have 
thought  my  continuance  in  my  position  as  general 
secretary  was  perhaps  positively  detrimental  to  our 
dear  cause  and  that  the  removal  of  the  Central  Com- 
mittee from  Washington  and  that  the  appointment 
of  someone  else  as  general  secretary  w^ould  free  the 
Confederation  from  many  most  disagreeable  and 
serious  drawbacks  upon  its  unanimity  and  strength. 

"  'Indeed  I  desire  to  serve  the  cause  I  have  taken 
in  hand,  indeed,  my  dear  brother,  this  is  my  only 
wish.  If  it  is  well  I  will  labor  while  I  can  stand  the 
weight.  If  it  is  best  let  me  withdraw  from  the  active 
labor;  still  praying  for  it;  most  deeply  regretting  I 
have  done  so  little  but  with  all  the  heart  to  have  done 
much  more.'  " 

This  was  a  case  of  real  renunciation,  for  Langdon 
had  deep  instincts  of  loyalty  and  devotion  to  any 
cause  he  espoused,  as  his  whole  life  service  showed. 
One  cannot  avoid  the  speculation  as  to  what  would 
have  been  the  development  of  the  Association  move- 
ment if  Langdon  could  at  this  period  have  devoted 
twenty-five  years  of  his  constructive  genius  to  its  ser- 
vice, as  was  later  done  by  Cephas  Brainerd. 

Langdon  states  he  had  not  then  learned  "that  such 
harsh  misjudgments  and  personal  attacks  are  the  al- 


264  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

most  inevitable  cost  of  a  sincerely  earnest  attempt  to 
accomplish  any  public  result  however  good  it  may 
be  in  itself,  if  it  be  at  the  time  unpopular  or  unappre- 
ciated by  those  who  oppose  it."  Langdon's  friends 
and  many  of  those  concerned  for  the  Confederation 
were  opposed  to  his  resigning.  The  Cincinnati  As- 
sociation made  him  an  honorary  member.  Neff  and 
Helme  urged  him  to  reconsider  his  purpose,  Lowry 
of  Cincinnati  wrote:  "I  could  not  but  consider  it  fatal 
to  the  union  of  our  Associations.  No  one  has  so  clear 
an  idea  of  the  object  to  be  gained  by  such  a  union,  no 
one  connected  with  it  is  so  well  qualified  to  bring  it 
into  effective  operation  as  yourself." 

McCormick  of  New  York  also  urged  Langdon  not 
to  withdraw.  He  wrote,  "Your  great  intimacy  with 
the  Associations  of  this  country,  your  wide  corre- 
spondence wMth  those  of  other  lands,  and  your  indus- 
trious and  warm  Christian  spirit  combine  to  make 
you  eminently  fitted  for  the  important  positions 
which  you  have  held  in  connection  with  the  Confed- 
eration from  the  day  of  its  organization  and  which  I 
sincerely  trust  3^ou  will  by  no  means  abandon." 

Neff  visited  Langdon  and  persuaded  him  to  remain 
as  general  secretary  until  after  the  coming  conven- 
tion. This  he  consented  to  do  on  condition  the  head- 
quarters would  then  be  transferred  elsewhere. 

The  last  service  of  the  Washington  Central  Com- 
mittee was  to  arrange  and  promote  the  second  con- 
vention of  the  Associations.  This  was  held  at  Cin- 
cinnati in  September,  1855.  It  was  a  test  of  the 
vitality  of  the  movement  whether  the  Associations 
would  continue  to  assemble  in  conventions,  whether 
the  general  administration  could  be  established  in  a 
new  center,  and  whether  a  committee  of  laymen 
could  be  found  sufficiently  acquainted  WMth  the  or- 
ganization and  devoted  to  its  objects  wisely  and  effi- 
ciently to  direct  its  affairs. 


THE  FIRST  l\'TERNATIONAL  ADMIMSTRATIOM   265 

The  convcntiuiis  of  this  period  drew  only  a  limited 
number  of  delegates  from  a  distance  and  were  con- 
sequently more  sectional  in  character  than  in  these 
days  of  rapid  transportation.  There  was  no  delegate 
present  at  Cincinnati  from  New  England,  New  York 
City,  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  or  Baltimore.  As 
Langdon  states,  it  was  largely  "a  western  affair." 
There  were  fifty-two  delegates  from  twenty-one  As- 
sociations in  attendance. 

The  convention  as  a  challenge  to  his  critics  and  a 
recognition  of  his  devoted  services  elected  Langdon 
president.  Referring  to  his  personal  services  Lang- 
don states:  'Tt  was  undoubtedly  a  kind  and  brotherly 
acceptance  of  my  v/ork  .  .  .  but  it  w:'s  due  also  to 
the  personal  strictures  to  which  I  had  been  subjected 
that  I  was  chosen  to  preside  over  this  convention.  It 
was  the  warm  and  even  indignant  ratification  of  my 
official  course  and  an  expression  of  personal  regard 
and  confidence." 

Langdon  was  the  dominant  spirit  at  this  conven- 
tion as  he  had  been  at  the  Buft'alo  Convention  and 
during  the  administration  of  the  first  Central  Com- 
mittee. This  is  seen  in  a  significant  incident.  In  con- 
nection with  a  resolution  on  the  true  aim  of  the  Asso- 
ciation James  Eells  of  Cleveland  introduced  two 
resolutions.  The  second  of  these  was  as  follows 
(Cincinnati  Convention  Report,  1856,  p.  55)  :  "Re- 
solved that  .  .  .  this  convention  recognizes  those  only 
as  active  members  of  these  Associations  who  are 
members  of  evangelical  churches."  The  president 
(Langdon)  ruled  as  follows:  "The  chair  finds  itself 
placed  in  a  disagreeable  position  but  is  compelled  to 
recognize  the  necessity  of  pronouncing  the  second 
resolution  out  of  order  because  in  violation  of  the 
Buft'alo  resolutions  of  Confederation  which  expressly 
deny  to  the  convention  the  right  of  legislating  with 
reference   to   the   local    aft'airs   of   anv   Association." 


266  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

H.  Thane  Miller  appealed  from  the  decision  of  the 
chair.  Neff,  the  ablest  leader  of  the  Confederation 
next  to  Langdon,  supported  Langdon's  decision.  He 
said,  "Should  the  convention  pass  such  a  resolution 
legislating  on  the  subject  of  membership  they  might 
with  equal  propriety  lay  out  work  for  the  local  Asso- 
ciations, directing  the  establishment  of  Sabbath 
schools,  the  invitation  of  lecturers,  etc.,  and  then 
interfering  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  Association." 

The  appeal  was  withdrawn  and  the  convention  ac- 
cepted Langdon's  ruling.  The  resolution  was  changed 
to  a  recommendation.  This  act  of  Langdon  saved 
the  infant  organization  from  the  difficulties  which 
followed  the  reversal  of  this  decision  thirteen  years 
later  by  the  convention  at  Portland  which  fixed  the 
evangelical  test  upon  the  American  Association,  in- 
vaded local  autonomy,  and  introduced  theological  dis- 
putes into  the  Association  movement.  Langdon's  de- 
cision was  prompted  wholly  by  his  conception  of  the 
polity  of  the  Association,  as  he  sympathized  with  re- 
stricting the  control  of  local  Associations  to  mem- 
bers of  evangelical  churches. 

Langdon  presented  both  the  report  of  the  Central 
Committee  and  the  document  covering  twenty  pages 
which  he  had  prepared  on  the  American  movement 
for  the  Paris  Convention.  These  two  reports,  the 
five  circulars  issued  by  the  Washington  Central  Com- 
mittee, and  the  journal  of  the  Buffalo  Convention,  all 
prepared  or  edited  by  Langdon,  may  be  said  to  have 
formulated  the  polity  of  the  American  Associations 
in  their  international  affairs.  It  was  a  voluntary 
democratic  organization  made  up  of  locally  independ- 
ent units  united  by  a  spiritual  bond  under  the  guid- 
ance of  an  advisory  committee  which  received  its  in- 
structions from  a  convention  of  delegates  from  local 
Associations. 

The  Cincinnati  Convention  was  marked  bv  three 


THE  FIRST  INTERNATIONAL  ADMINISTRATION   267 

features:  (1)  the  approval  of  the  Paris  Basis,  (2)  the 
discussion  of  the  true  sphere  of  the  Associations,  (3) 
the  estabHshment  of  the  Quarterly  Reporter. 

Neff  read  (Cincinnati  Convention  Report,  1855,  pp. 
45-46)  a  letter  of  greeting  from  the  first  world's  con- 
vention which  had  been  held  the  preceding  month  at 
Paris.  This  letter  describes  the  organized  system  of 
correspondence  proposed  among  the  Associations  of 
the  world  and  presented  the  declaration  of  purpose 
and  belief  known  as  the  Paris  Basis.  On  a  motion 
made  by  Neff  this  was  ratified.  The  motion  stated 
that  the  convention  "approve  and  hereby  ratify  the 
resolutions  of  the  Confederation  and  correspondence 
submitted  by  the  conference  of  Christian  Associa- 
tions lately  assembled  at  Paris."  The  committee  was 
authorized  to  put  these  into  effect.  A  reservation, 
however,  provided  that  any  local  Association  would 
have  the  privilege  of  withdrawing  should  it  desire  to 
do  so.  The  Paris  Basis  emphasized  the  unity  of  the 
Association  movement,  the  independence  of  the  local 
society,  and  the  object  of  the  Association  as  the 
extension  of  Christ's  Kingdom  among  young  men. 

Its  doctrinal  statement  was  strongly  and  conserva- 
tively evangelical.  This  was  the  position  of  George 
Williams,  of  Langdon,  and  practically  all  of  the  Asso- 
ciation leaders  of  the  period. 

Preceding  the  reading  of  the  letter  from  Paris 
Langdon  had  read  his  extended  survey  of  the  Ameri- 
can Associations.  Referring  to  difficulties  with  Uni- 
tarians he  said  (Cincinnati  Report,  1856,  p.  92):  "In 
Springfield,  Mass.,  the  contest  with  a  denomination 
of  professing  Christians  who  were  not  content  that 
good  should  be  done  unless  they  might  share  equally 
in  its  accomplishment,  had  sapped  the  energies  of  the 
society  and  filled  it  with  discouragement  and  the  ef- 
forts of  this  body  to  ratify  the  proceedings  of  the 
Buffalo  Convention  only  gave  them  proof  that  the 


268  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

Struggle  was  in  vain;  and  upon  their  closed  doors  is 
written  a  memorial  of  the  'liberality'  and  'charity'  of 
those  Christians  who  use  these  words  for  their  battle- 
cries  in  this  most  unchristian  warfare.  For  months 
nothing  has  been  heard  from  the  Association  at 
"Worcester,  its  trials  were  the  same,  it  is  feared  that 
its  fate  has  been  that  of  Springfield." 

Langdon  had  thought  deeply  on  the  true  purpose 
of  the  Association.  He  saw  that  unless  the  local  As- 
sociations understood  clearly  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  organized  they  would  ultimately  fail.  Ac- 
cordingly on  the  second  day  of  the  convention  (Cin- 
cinnati Convention  Report,  1855,  p.  49)  he  proposed 
the  following  resolution:  "Whereas  both  the  local  and 
general  efficiency  of  any  organization  is  increased 
or  diminished  in  proportion  as  its  character  and  pur- 
poses are  more  or  less  clearly  defined  and  whereas 
great  uncertainty  has  existed  and  has  been  mani- 
fested on  the  above  points  in  many  localities  where 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  were  being  or 
were  about  to  be  organized — Resolved,  that  in  the 
opinion  of  this  convention,  a  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  is  a  society  which  has  for  its  object  the 
formation  and  development  in  young  men  of  Chris- 
tian character  and  Christian  activity.  Resolved  fur- 
ther that  this  convention  regards  it  as  important  to 
the  efficiency  and  influence  of  these  Associations  that 
their  energies  should  be,  as  far  as  judicious,  concen- 
trated upon  the  immediate  field  above  set  forth." 

Langdon  stated  that  letters  were  written  him  re- 
peatedly asking  to  know  the  design  of  the  Associa- 
tions and  that  there  was  "great  danger  of  going  off 
on  purposes  entirely  exterior  and  in  directions  (as 
might  be  seen  from  some  of  these  reports)  which  had 
not  been  dreamed  of  by  any  society  organized." 

Rev.  James  Eells  of  Cleveland  took  this  occasion 
to  advocate  a  resolution  insisting  on  the  requirement 


THE  FIRST  INTERNATIONAL  ADMINISTRATION   269 

of  the  evangelical  basis  for  active  membership.  He 
opposed  allowing-  local  Associations  to  determine  for 
themselves  the  basis  of  membership.  He  said,  "Shall 
we  say  we  are  an  Association  of  moral  young  men 
in  some  parts  of  the  country  and  in  other  parts,  of 
young  men  connected  with  the  evangelical  churches, 
yet  all  coming  together  and  calling  themselves  by  the 
general  name  of  'A  Christian  Association'?" 

The  questions  of  the  aim  of  the  Association  and  the 
basis  of  membership  were  referred  to  a  special  com- 
mittee of  which  Eells  was  appointed  chairman.  He 
reported  the  resolution  requiring  membership  in  an 
evangelical  church  of  active  members  but  was  obliged 
to  change  this  to  a  recommendation.  It  was  unfor- 
tunate that  he  eliminated  the  part  of  the  resolution 
urging  the  Associations  to  limit  their  field  of  activity 
to  young  men. 

The  resolution  adopted  stated  that  the  object  of 
the  Association  was  "the  formation  and  development 
in  young  men  of  Christian  character  and  Christian 
activity."  This  resolution  was  ambiguous,  for  the 
term  "Christian  activity"  was  capable  of  different  in- 
terpretations and  at  the  Troy  Convention  three  years 
later  Eells  and  Langdon  strongly  disagreed  as  to  its 
meaning.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  Langdon 
proposed  this  resolution  in  connection  with  another 
which  Eells  eliminated,  emphasizing  that  the  distinc- 
tive field  of  the  Association  was  among  young  men. 
The  divergent  tendencies  in  the  American  movement 
were  already  apparent. 

The  third  step  taken  by  the  convention  was  the 
establishment  of  a  periodical  know^n  as  the  Quarterly 
Reporter  for  the  purpose  of  affording  a  means  of  com- 
munication between  the  Central  Committee  and  the 
local  Associations.  In  1859  the  Quarterly  was  changed 
to  a  monthly  under  the  name  of  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Journal. 


270  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

On  motion  of  the  business  committee  Cincinnati 
was  chosen  as  headquarters  for  the  Confederation. 
A  Central  Committee  was  appointed  of  thirteen  mem- 
bers, five  at  headquarters  and  one  from  each  of  the 
seven  different  districts  into  which  the  continent  was 
divided.  Langdon  was  chosen  as  an  additional  mem- 
ber from  the  Washington  district  but  insisted  on  with- 
drawing. The  second  Central  Committee  as  finally 
constituted  consisted  of  H.  Thane  Miller,  chairman; 
Wm.  H.  NefY,  home  secretary;  members,  A.  C.  Neave, 
George  Williams,  and  Samuel  Lowry.  Rhees  of 
Washington  was  made  foreign  secretary. 

One  of  the  pleasing  features  of  the  convention  was 
the  presence  of  Rev.  Wm.  Arthur,  one  of  the  vice- 
presidents  of  the  parent  Association  of  London,  who 
delivered  to  the  convention  an  address  which  was 
most  cordially  received. 

The  Cincinnati  Convention,  with  the  transfer  of 
the  Central  Committee  to  new  headquarters,  may  be 
said  to  have  completed  the  establishment  of  the  Con- 
federation, the  most  important  step  next  to  the  found- 
ing of  the  first  Association  which  had  yet  been  taken. 
Robert  McBurney,  writing  in  1885  (Year  Book,  1884, 
p.  35),  said,  "Humanly  speaking  had  it  not  been  for 
this  organization  (now  the  International  Committee) 
resulting  from  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Langdon,  the  his- 
torian even  now  would  probably  be  compelled  to  say 
of  the  American  Associations  ,  .  .  simply  that  they 
have  ceased  to  exist." 

McBurney  further  states:  "Langdon  providentially 
proved  equal  to  the  work  he  had  set  his  heart  upon. 
He  conducted  the  delicate  negotiations  with  indomi- 
table energy,  enthusiasm,  tact,  and  loving  devotion 
and  finally  triumphed.  .  .  .  The  Associations  in  our 
own  land  and  in  all  lands  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
Doctor  Langdon,  deeper  and  more  far-reaching  than 
they  have  ever  recognized." 


CHAPTER  IV 

LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Sec.  41. — The  Second  Central  COxMMittee 
Cincinnati,  September,  1855,  to  May,  1857 

This  committee  had  a  diflicult  task,  as  Neff  and 
Lowry  were  the  only  two  members  who  had  been  in 
touch  with  Confederation  affairs  from  the  beginning 
and  none  of  the  other  members  attended  the  two  con- 
ventions held  during  its  administration.  Neff  was 
present  at  the  Montreal  Convention,  over  which  he 
presided,  and  Lowry  represented  the  committee  at 
the  Richmond  Convention. 

Some  of  the  dif^culties  of  this  period  are  illustrated 
by  the  fact  that  although  the  Montreal  Association 
entertained  the  convention  of  1856  the  following  year 
that  Association  withdrew  because  the  Confederation 
would  not  adopt  an  anti-slavery  resolution.  (Rich- 
mond Convention  Report,  1857,  p.  32.) 

The  Cincinnati  Central  Committee  made  a  distinct 
contribution  in  successfully  inaugurating  the  Quar- 
terly Reporter.  Seven  numbers  of  this  journal  were 
issued  by  this  committee  and  circulated  among  the 
Associations  both  at  home  and  abroad.  It  was  de- 
voted to  concrete  reports  of  actual  work  done  by 
local  Associations,  to  correspondence  with  foreign 
Associations,  communications  from  the  Central  Com- 
mittee, and  from  members  who  wished  to  discuss  any 
Association  topic.  It  might  be  regarded  as  a  continu- 
ation of  the  annual  convention  in  promoting  knowl- 
edge and  interest  in  Association  aft'airs. 


212  )-OL'A'G  .U£A"5  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

When  the  third  convention  assembled  at  ^vlontreal 
in  June,  1856,  a  most  apprehensive  state  of  mind  ex- 
isted on  both  sides  of  the  national  boundary  lest  the 
political  crisis  might  bring  the  two  countries  into 
armed  conflict.  The  Crimean  War  was  at  its  height. 
Recruiting  agents  claiming  to  have  authority  from 
the  British  minister  were  active  in  a  number  of  cities 
in  the  United  States.  Secretary  of  State  Marcy  pro- 
tested vigorously,  but  Lord  Clarendon  refused  to  ad- 
mit any  complicity  on  the  part  of  his  representative. 
The  evidence  was  slight  but  in  May  President  Pierce 
broke  off  diplomatic  relations  with  Great  Britain  and 
these  were  not  reestablished  during  the  rest  of  his 
term  of  office,  which  continued  until  March  of  the 
following  year.  This  situation  gave  a  tense  atmos- 
phere to  the  Montreal  Convention. 

Thomas  H.  Gladstone,  president  of  the  Borough 
Branch,  London,  and  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  British 
Associations,  was  warmly  welcomed  and  gave  one  of 
the  principal  addresses.  The  Convention  voted  in  a 
spirit  of  international  fellowship  to  send  a  delegation, 
of  whom  Langdon  was  the  chief  member,  to  visit  the 
Associations  in  Europe.  At  the  first  session  Lang- 
don asked  if  a  resolution  on  the  relations  between 
England  and  the  United  States  was  in  order.  This 
was  referred  to  a  special  committee.  The  committee 
reported  (Montreal  Convention  Report,  1856,  p.  37) 
that  while  it  would  not  be  fitting  to  discuss  purely 
political  questions  "We  feel  it  our  duty  to  recommend 
to  our  brethren  of  Britain  and  America,  in  the  present 
unsettled  relations  between  the  countries,  the  exer- 
cise of  a  cool  and  dispassionate  judgment,  a  calm  and 
temperate  treatment  of  all  political  issues  between 
the  nations  and  united  prayer  to  God  that  He  will  so 
direct  cabinets  and  temper  the  tide  of  popular  sym- 
pathy as  to  insure  peace  and  advance  the  Kingdom 
of   Christ   among  men."     The   resolution   then   pro- 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  273 

posed  to  the  Associations  of  North  America  the  first 
Tuesday  in  August  as  a  day  of  special  prayer  for 
peace.    These  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted. 

\\'hile  the  reports  of  Associations  were  being  sub- 
mitted an  interesting  interchange  of  sentiment  took 
place.  The  delegate  from  Kingston  (Canada)  after 
reporting  for  his  Association  said:  "I  cannot  sit  down 
without  giving  utterance  to  the  painful  emotions 
which  the  very  possibility  of  war  between  the  two 
great  nations  represented  in  this  convention  gives 
rise  to  in  my  mind.  I  know  that  I  speak  the  senti- 
ments of  my  own  Association  and  I  believe  of  every 
Christian  young  man  in  these  provinces  when  I  hail 
your  presence  among  us,  brethren  of  the  United 
States,  with  gladness  and  when  I  give  you  our  most 
cordial  welcome.  We  feel  bound  to  you,  brethren, 
by  the  strongest  ties  of  Christian  affection  .  .  .  and 
we  of  Canada  cheerfully  pledge  ourselves  to  devote 
our  energies,  our  influence,  and  our  prayers  to  the 
removal  of  everything  which  threatens  to  sever  these 
Christian  bonds.'" 

Several  American  delegates  responded  most  heart- 
ily to  these  sentiments.  Langdon  exclaimed,  "We 
stand  here  the  children  of  one  language,  one  history, 
one  faith,  one  ancestry,  to  acknowledge  our  common 
allegiance  and  to  proclaim  our  loyalty  to  the  Great 
Lord  of  Rulers  and  King  of  Kings." 

Commerce  and  political  interests  have  done  much 
to  unite  the  world  and  develop  a  world  consciousness 
but  international  organizations  for  religious  and  so- 
cial service  like  the  Red  Cross  and  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  have  been  among  the  most 
])otent  factors  in  creating  a  spirit  of  world  brother- 
hood and  solidarity. 

The  Montreal  Convention  surpassed  its  two  prede- 
cessors in  size  and  enthusiasm.  Eighty-seven  dele- 
gates were  present  from  twenty-six  Associations  and 


274  YOUXG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

for  the  first  time  nonconfederated  Associations  were 
represented  by  corresponding  delegates.  Eight  were 
present  from  Boston,  including  Moses  W.  Pond,  and 
two  from  New  York  City,  one  of  whom  was  Richard 
C.  McCormick.  William  H.  NefT,  corresponding  sec- 
retary of  the  Central  Committee,  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  convention.  George  H.  Stuart  of  Phila- 
delphia, a  delegate  for  the  first  time,  was  chosen  one 
of  the  vice-presidents.  Langdon  and  Rhees  partici- 
pated actively  in  the  convention  proceedings. 

The  most  interesting  incident  of  the  convention 
was  the  introduction  by  Rhees  of  three  resolutions, 
one  on  physical  training  and  two  on  amusements. 
It  is  significant  that  these  propositions  were  presented 
together  and  by  the  same  liberal-minded  man.  They 
were  intimately  related  to  the  new  ideal  in  religious 
education  and  social  service  which  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  was  destined  to  embody.  They 
were  an  instinctive  recognition  that  the  awakening 
of  interest  on  the  part  of  young  men  must  take  the 
place  of  external  authority,  that  the  democratic  spirit 
rather  than  the  autocratic  must  dominate  Christian 
effort. 

These  two  questions  were  to  influence  profoundl}^ 
not  only  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  but 
all  religious  life  and  thought.  For  thirty  years  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was  to  be  the 
battleground  between  the  puritan  ascetic  ideal  and 
the  social  and  democratic  ideal  of  religious  life  and 
effort. 

Both  physical  training  and  amusements  were  de- 
veloped because  the  Association  was  seeking  to  serve 
young  men  in  their  leisure  time.  It  was  not  from 
any  philosophic  theory  of  their  character  value  that 
these  were  promoted,  but  by  the  tedious  method  of 
trial  and  error  and  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest 
they  came  into  universal  acceptance.     The  Associa- 


.  LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  275 

tions  which  used  these  agencies  survived  and  were 
helpful  to  young  men.  The  others  except  among  stu- 
dents disappeared.  Guided  recreation,  play,  and 
physical  education  were  found  to  contribute  to  the 
development  of  personality  and  to  stable  Christian 
character.  A  wholesome  attractive  environment 
drew  young  men  irresistibly  from  lives  of  indulgence 
and  sin. 

The  resolutions  proposed  by  Rhees  were  (Mont- 
real Convention  Report,  1856,  pp.  15,  67):  "1. 
Whether  any  means  can  be  provided  by  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  for  the  physical  development 
and  promotion  of  the  health  of  their  members  by 
gymnasiums,  baths,  etc.  2,  The  practical  influence 
of  theaters  and  similar  places  of  amusement  on  young 
men.  3.  The  best  means  of  rendering  the  rooms  of 
the  Association  attractive  to  w^orldly  young  men." 

The  resolutions  on  the  gymnasium  and  amuse- 
ments were  laid  on  the  table. 

The  resolution  adopted  for  attracting  "worldly 
young  men"  was  as  follows :  "That  among  the  most 
important  means  are  rooms  central  in  their  location 
and  cheerfully  and  tastefully  furnished,  libraries  and 
reading  rooms,  debates,  socials,  lectures,  and  Bible 
classes."  Most  of  these  agencies  were  remote  from 
the  dominant  interest  of  "worldly  young  men,"  who 
would  have  been  far  more  interested  in  physical 
training  and  athletic  games. 

The  two  resolutions  laid  on  the  table  are  of  such 
great  significance  that  they  are  quoted  in  part.  The 
first  was  regarding  physical  training  prepared  by 
George  A.  Bell  of  Brooklyn: 

"Vital  piety  and  earnest  practical  godliness  are  in- 
timately connected  with  a  healthy  physical  system. 
.  .  .  Associations  should  make  arrangements  for  the 
physical  improvement  and  the  development  of  their 
members.   .  .   .   Especially  is   this   necessary  ...   in 


276  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

our  large  cities.  .  .  ,  The  establishment  of  some 
such  means  .  .  .  would  doubtless  induce  many- 
young  men  whose  hearts  have  not  been  given  to 
Christ  to  join  the  Associations  and  thus  they  would 
be  brought  under  the  influence  of  the  members  and 
led  perhaps  to  the  prayer  meeting  and  finally  to  the 
foot  of  the  cross. 

"That  when  properly  conducted,  gymnasiums, 
baths,  and  bowling  alleys  are  beneficial  to  bodily 
health  and  physical  vigor. 

"That  public  sentiment  in  many  of  our  cities  in  re- 
gard to  bowling  alleys  renders  it  inexpedient  for  this 
convention  to  recommend  their  establishment. 

"That  we  look  upon  billiards  as  detrimental  to 
health  and  morals. 

"That  this  convention  approves  of  every  proper 
means  .  .  .  for  interesting  and  improving  the  young 
men  of  our  cities  and  of  thus  drawing  under  good 
and  Christian  influences  those  whose  hearts  have  not 
yet  been  given  to  the  Saviour. 

"That  .  .  .  the  convention  would  respectfully 
recommend  to  the  Associations  .  .  .  the  establish- 
ment of  gymnasiums  and  baths  to  be  as  far  as  possi- 
ble self-supporting." 

The  resolution  on  amusement  was  presented  by 
R.  Terhune  of  Newark,  New  Jersey.  After  speaking 
of  the  evil  influence  of  the  theater  as  then  conducted 
for  commercial  gain  and  of  horse  racing  and  the  cir- 
cus as  prone  to  "excite  the  imagination  and  influence 
the  baser  passions  of  men,"  it  was 

"Resolved,  that  these  kinds  of  amusements  can  be 
best  counteracted  by  furnishing  .  .  .  such  recrea- 
tions as  are  moderately  and  healthfully  stimulating, 
such  as  social  reunions,  healthful  games,  concerts  of 
music,  festivals,  etc.,  and  everything  which  can  be 
devised  as  attractive  for  good." 

This  and  the  resolution  on  physical  training  failed 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  277 

of  adoption,  but  their  advocates  gained  ground  and 
were  determined  to  urge  a  sane  wholesome  life  for 
young  men.  Tlie  traditional  attitude  of  a  church  nur- 
tured in  puritan  ideals  regarding  dancing,  cards,  bil- 
liards, the  drama,  bowling,  the  use  of  Sunday,  and 
even  the  reading  of  fiction  presented  a  thorny  path 
before  any  organization  which  wished  to  sanctify  the 
recreations  and  leisure  time  of  young  men.* 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  been 
strikingly  conservative  in  its  theology,  but  it  has 
been  astonishingly  radical  in  its  methods  in  pioneer- 
ing the  use  of  recreation  and  physical  training  as  a 
means  of  building  character.  It  has  led  the  Church 
to  adopt  the  policy  of  direction  rather  than  repression 
of  the  play  instinct.  When  games  such  as  checkers 
and  chess  were  first  introduced  in  the  New  York  City 
Association  as  late  as  1869  McBurney  reported  them 
as  furniture  in  order  to  avoid  opposition  and  for  the 
same  reason  the  classes  in  gymnastics  were  listed  un- 
obtrusively with  the  classes  in  French  and  English. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  at  the  convention  at  Rich- 
mond in  1857  that  the  Cincinnati  Committee  in  its  re- 
ports states  (Richmond  Convention  Report,  1857,  p. 
41),  "This  Committee  believe  that  the  spiritual  bene- 
fit first  of  the  members  themselves  and  secondly  of 
those  around  them  should  be  the  one  great  object  of 
the  Associations  and  further  that  the  means  tending 

*  These  radicals  of  yesterday  look  almost  like  conservatives  today; 
that  is  the  lot  of  the  radicals,  but  they  are  remembered  because  they 
were.  They  would  be  forgotten  otherwise.  Those  that  determine 
the  course  of  history  must  seem  to  be  radical;  that  is  what  makes 
them  stand  forth,  and  in  the  twentieth  century  the  men  who  are 
attempting  to  liberalize  the  Association  must  expect  to  be  treated 
with  suspicion  by  the  predom.inant  conservatives  until  the  new  gen- 
eration finally  rallies  to  their  support  and  the  new  age  has  its  way. 
So  only  is  social  progress  made.  "Advanced  men"  who  are  sus- 
picioned,  and  are  treated  with  contumely  or  at  least  receive  the  hot 
opposition  of  the  average  man,  ultimately  are  to  be  accredited  with 
the  term  "'leadership,"  and  is  it  not  the  only  way  leadership  may  be 
secured? — R.  E.  L. 


278  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

directly  to  this  end  such  as  the  Bible  class,  the  devo- 
tional meeting,  the  Sabbath  School,  and  other  Chris- 
tian labors  should  receive  attention  in  preference  to 
the  library,  reading  room,  and  miscellaneous  lectures 
which  can  only  be  considered  as  leading  to  it  inci- 
dentally and  are  usually  attended  with  heavy  ex- 
penses." 

Unknowingly,  the  Associations  were  rapidly  ap- 
proaching a  religious  upheaval  which,  with  the  Civil 
War,  was  destined  to  postpone  for  a  number  of  years 
progress  in  the  evolution  of  the  program  for  develop- 
ing all-round  manhood  in  body,  mind,  and  spirit. 

The  Richmond  Convention  assembled  in  May, 
1857;  the  attendance  was  small.  Langdon  was  in 
Europe.  Samuel  Lowry  was  the  only  member  of  the 
Central  Committee  present,  Rhees  and  Richards  of 
Washington  were  the  only  other  representatives  of 
the  pioneer  group.  Writing  some  years  later  of  this 
convention  Lowry  said:  "There  is  usually  a  period 
in  the  progress  of  any  movement  .  .  .  when  the 
force  of  the  original  impulse  seems  to  be  nearly 
exhausted  and  about  to  become  inert  ...  a  position 
similar  to  that  of  heavy  machinery  when  it  is  de- 
scribed as  being  on  a  dead  center.  ...  It  was  during 
such  a  season  of  comparative  inaction  that  the  Rich- 
mond Convention  was  held.  It  was  an  important 
meeting  .  .  .  successful  in  its  influence  in  turning  the 
ebbing  tide  and  in  infusing  fresh  energy  into  the 
work." 

Sec.  42. — Third  Central  Committee 

Headquarters,  BuflFalo,  1857-1859 

The  Richmond  Convention  voted  to  transfer  the 
headquarters  of  the  Central  Committee  from  Cincin- 
nati to  Buffalo.  The  third  Central  Committee  accord- 
ingly began  its  administration  in  the  summer  of  1857 
with  Oscar  Cobb  as  chairman,  Wm.  M.  Gray  as  home 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  279 

secretary,  N.  A.  Ilalbert  as  editor  of  the  Quarterly 
Reporter,  and  Samuel  Lowry  of  Cincinnati  as  foreign 
secretary. 

Some  of  the  most  remarkable  experiences  in  the 
history  of  the  American  movement  occurred  under 
the  administration  of  the  Buffalo  Committee.  These 
were  the  great  religious  awakening  and  the  important 
convention  at  Troy  in  1859.  Both  of  these  tended  to 
divert  the  Association  from  its  primary  field  of 
endeavor. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  financial 
panic  which  overtook  New  York  and  the  business  in- 
terests of  the  entire  country  in  October,  1857.  A  far- 
reaching  revival  followed  immediately  on  its  heels. 
This  revival  has  had  a  profound  influence  on  all  the 
later  history  of  the  North  American  Associations. 
Other  revivals  are  associated  with  the  names  of  great 
evangelists.  Moody,  Charles  G.  Finney,  Wesley,  Ed- 
wards, Whitefield.  This  revival  was  the  work  of  lay- 
men. 

Preaching  has  been  a  prominent  feature  of  other 
religious  awakenings.  This  one  was  characterized  by 
prayer  meetings. 

The  great  evangelists  represented  different  de- 
nominations. The  unique  feature  of  this  revival  was 
that  it  was  everywhere  a  union  interdenominational 
movement. 

The  characteristics  of  the  awakening  were  leader- 
ship by  laymen,  prayer  meetings,  and  interdenomina- 
tional fellowship. 

These  three  dynamic  factors  begot  a  fervid  enthusi- 
asm that  made  this  religious  revival  one  of  the  most 
far-reaching  of  any  in  American  history.  ("Life  of 
Robert  R.  McBurney,"  pp.  42-46)  :  "Early  in  the  year 
1856,  several  members  of  the  New  York  Association, 
among  them  L.  L.  Deane,  became  convinced  that 
some  means  should  be  adopted  by  which  to  r^ach  the 


280  YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

150,000  young  men  residing  in  the  heart  of  the 
metropoHs.  This  conviction  was  strengthened  by 
the  report  of  Richard  C.  McCormick  relating  to  the 
operation  of  kindred  Associations  in  Great  Britain 
and  other  parts  of  Europe. 

"In  August,  after  a  vain  effort  to  secure  the  John 
Street  Methodist  Church,  apphcation  was  made  by 
Deane  for  the  use  of  the  consistory  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church  on  Fulton  Street,  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  union  prayer  meetings  chiefly  for  men. 
The  use  of  the  rooms  was  granted  on  any  evening  not 
required  for  meetings  of  the  church,  and  a  weekly 
meeting  was  commenced.  The  first  noon  prayer 
meeting  was  held  in  September,  1856.  The  meeting 
was  held  daily  for  a  time,  and  then  three  times  a  w^eek, 
between  12  and  1  o'clock.  This  continued  until  the 
summer  of  1857,  when  it  was  deemed  best,  owing  to 
the  absence  of  many  from  the  city,  to  suspend  it  for 
a  time. 

"These  meetings  were  upon  a  purely  union  basis. 
The  invitation  was,  'Come  and  go  as  you  like,  and 
stay  no  longer  than  suits  your  convenience.'  A  num- 
ber of  gentlemen  from  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  cooperated  with  Deane,  among  them 
Robert  R.  AIcBurney  and  Edward  Colgate.  This  is 
McBurney's  first  recorded  service  in  connection  with 
the  Association. 

"In  order  to  gather  young  men  to  these  meetings, 
printed  cards  of  invitation  were  distributed  copiously 
in  houses  of  business.  Later  in  the  summer,  under 
the  leadership  of  Colgate,  a  number  of  the  members 
of  the  Association  were  making  arrangements  for  re- 
opening the  noon  meeting. 

"While  the  committee  was  in  session  in  a  store  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Fulton  Street,  J.  C.  Lamphier, 
who,  in  the  meantime,  on  July  first,  had  been  ap- 
pointed   city    missionary    by    the    consistory    of   the 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  281 

Dutch  Rcf'jrnied  Church,  called  and  said  he  had  al- 
ready taken  some  steps  toward  reopening  the  meet- 
ing-. He  urged  the  young  men  to  leave  it  in  his  care, 
and  asked  them  to  take  hold  with  him  and  help  sus- 
tain it  rather  than  have  two  meetings.  The  young 
men  approved  of  this  proposition,  provided  the  exer- 
cises be  sustained  on  a  thoroughly  union  basis.  They 
went  to  work  with  Lamphier  and  cooperated  heartily. 

"In  the  meantime  the  financial  depression  which 
was  sweeping  over  the  whole  country  was  approach- 
ing a  crisis.  The  most  serious  financial  panic  which 
New  York  or  the  country  at  large  has  ever  expe- 
rienced came  in  October,  1857.  It  was  so  overwhelm- 
ing that  it  prostrated  the  monetary  system  of  the 
country.  This  panic  turned  the  attention  of  thou- 
sands of  business  men  to  the  consideration  of  other 
than  worldly  matters,  and  was  followed  by  a  marvel- 
ous religious  awakening  which  stirred  the  entire 
nation. 

"Immediately  the  prayer  meeting  at  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church  became  crowded.  Soon  three  meet- 
ings were  being  held  simultaneously  in  different  parts 
of  the  consistory  building.  Members  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  were  active  in  these 
meetings.  The  crowds  became  so  large  'it  was 
clearly  seen  that  the  Association  had  only  just  en- 
tered upon  its  work  and  in  February  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  organize  and  sustain  free  of  expense 
to  the  Association  union  prayer  meetings  in  such  sec- 
tions of  the  city  as  the  necessities  of  the  case  and  the 
signs  of  the  time  seemed  to  demand.'  Meetings  were 
started  by  the  Association  in  the  John  Street  [Metho- 
dist Church,  in  the  Ninth  Street  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  in  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Broome 
and  Greene  Streets,  in  Burton's  old  theater,  and  in 
the  Central  Presbyterian  Church.  'A  circular  letter 
was  prepared  expressly  for  the  clergy,  setting  forth 


282  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

the  object  of  the  Association  and  giving  an  account 
of  the  union  prayer  meetings  held  in  the  city.'  Other 
agencies  besides  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions rallied  to  this  movement,  until  in  New  York 
City  alone  one  hundred  and  fifty  noon  prayer  meet- 
ings were  being  carried  on  simultaneously. 

"The  report  sent  by  the  American  Central  Commit- 
tee to  the  World's  Conference,  held  at  Geneva,  July, 
1858,  says:  'Union  prayer  meetings  are  maintained 
or  have  been  in  all  our  large  places.  By  the  union 
meetings  large  churches,  or  even  deserted  theaters, 
have  been  crowded.  In  them  sectarianism  is  lost.  It 
has  been  perceived  that  the  principle  and  practice  of 
cordial  union  among  Christians  of  different  persua- 
sions, not  for  ecclesiastical  purposes  but  for  the  cul- 
tivation of  personal  holiness  and  the  conversion  of 
men,  is  the  primary  force  which  has  sustained  and 
advanced  this  awakening.  Where  did  the  principle 
and  practice  originate  and  find  embodiment?  Was 
it  not  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association? 
These  Associations  have  steadily  advanced  and  in- 
creased in  numbers.  All  this  had  been  going  on  for 
years,  and  the  great  principle  of  religious  activity 
upon  a  union  basis  had  become  a  practical  fact.  Hence 
the  agency  for  the  great  work  was  at  hand.  As  the 
revival  proceeded  upon  a  union  basis,  our  Associa- 
tions were  ready  at  the  outset  without  any  adjust- 
ment of  machinery  for  the  work.  The  union  field  was 
emphatically  their  field.  In  many  places,  as  in  New 
York,  Baltimore,  and  Louisville,  our  Associations 
were  the  first  to  hold  union  meetings,  the  example  of 
which  was  soon  followed  by  the  churches.'  " 

The  report  of  the  New  York  Association  for  1862 
says :  "The  noon-day  union  prayer  meetings  in  Ful- 
ton Street,  now  in  successful  operation,  will  so  long 
as  it  continues,  or  the  memory  of  it  remains,  be  a 
monument  and  a  proof  of  the  good  our  Association 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  283 

has  accomplished.  The  young  men  composing  the 
committee  which  planted  the  seeds  and  watched  the 
young  life  of  that  now  renowned  and  blessed  meeting 
are  still  nnnibcred  among  our  most  earnest  mem- 
bers." 

The  revival  spread  throughout  the  entire  nation 
and  w^as  even  carried  to  the  northern  counties  of  Ire- 
land. Wherever  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
existed,  these  Associations  by  common  consent  took 
the  initiative  in  inaugurating  noon  prayer  meetings 
of  a  union  character  carried  on  largely  by  laymen. 

In  April,  1858,  Jesse  Clement,  district  member  of 
the  Central  Committee,  Dubuque,  Iowa,  wrote 
(Charleston  Convention  Report,  1858,  p.  29):  "You 
will  rejoice  to  know  that  the  blessed  work  of  grace 
which  is  sweeping  over  the  country  like  a  wind-driven 
prairie  fire  is  in  this  part  of  the  land  greatly  enlarg- 
ing the  number  of  young  men  who  will  hereafter  be 
found  fighting  on  the  side  of  truth.  Of  four  hundred 
recent  converts  in  the  city  of  Dubuque  about  one 
fourth  are  young  men."  At  St.  Paul  four  daily  prayer 
meetings  were  conducted  by  the  Association  which 
were  largely  attended.  Three  of  these  meetings  were 
in  fire  engine  houses. 

Louisville,  Kentucky,  reported  a  very  deep  interest 
in  similar  meetings  in  that  city.  A  commercial 
traveler  reported  that  one  could  travel  from  New 
York  City  to  Omaha  and  find  a  daily  union  prayer 
meeting  in  progress  in  every  town  of  any  importance. 

In  Philadelphia  in  ^lay,  1858,  a  large  tent  was 
erected  and  daily  evangelistic  services  conducted  dur- 
ing the  entire  summer.  This  example  was  followed 
by  the  Cincinnati  Association,  which  established  a 
"Union  Tabernacle"  which  became  widely  known. 
The  Lay  Delegation  Movement  began  in  Cincinnati. 
By  this  team  method  a  group  ©f  business  men  would 
visit  a  community,  conduct  a  number  of  evangelistic 


284  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

services,  and  urge  the  Christian  men  of  the  town  to 
organize  similar  lay  delegations  for  tours  of  the 
smaller  communities  in  their  neighborhoods.  By 
this  organized  effort  the  population  of  entire  states 
was  influenced. 

One  result  of  the  revival  was  the  formation  of  many 
new  Associations.  New  England  had  refrained  be- 
cause of  abolition  sentiment  from  supporting  the  Con- 
federation. It  was  reported  in  1858  that  the  number 
of  Associations  in  New  England  had  increased  from 
eight  to  eighteen.  In  New  York  State  and  Pennsyl- 
vania thirteen  new  Associations  were  organized  dur- 
ing the  year.  The  Central  Committee  report  for  1859 
showed  (Troy  Convention  Report,  1859,  p.  134)  "that 
out  of  182  Associations  then  in  existence  98  or  54  per 
cent  had  been  organized  within  that  year."  It  was 
impossible  to  assimilate  so  large  a  proportion  of  new 
organizations  to  the  old  ideals.  These  Associations 
became  lay  organizations  for  general  evangelistic  and 
missionary  endeavor,  with  work  for  young  men  as  an 
incidental  feature.  All  the  patient  efforts  of  Lang- 
don,  Rhees,  Lowry,  Neff,  and  McCormick  to  inaugu- 
rate a  specialized  society  for  the  building  of  Christian 
character  among  young  men  seemed  overwhelmed  in 
the  new  enthusiasm. 

Eells  of  Cleveland,  Miller  of  Cincinnati,  Stuart  of 
Philadelphia,  and  others  transformed  the  Association 
into  a  glowing  general  evangelistic  agency  for  "the 
propagation  of  the  Gospel"  in  rural  and  urban  com- 
munities alike. 

In  recent  years  leaders  of  institutional  churches 
have  announced  that  the  work  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  was  ended  and  the  short-lived 
Inter-Church  World  Movement  was  pointed  out  as 
rendering  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  un- 
necessary, but  in  1858  and  1859  men  were  outspoken 
in  announcinsf  that  the   denominational   church   be- 


LATER  ADMJNJSTR.ITIOXS  285 

cause  of  its  divisions  had  failed  to  save  the  world  and 
a  new  union  ag-ency,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, had  been  raised  up  of  God  to  take  its  place. 
Clergymen  heard  ardent  laymen  proclaim  a  new  in- 
stitution which  would  supersede  the  Church. 

Many  forms  of  religious  and  philanthropic  work 
were  being  carried  on  widely  by  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  From  the  very  first  conven- 
tion in  1854  mission  Sunday  schools  and  city  missions 
were  promoted;  later  Bible  and  tract  distribution 
flourished.  Almshouses  and  charitable  institutions 
were  visited  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  religious 
meetings  and  cheering  the  sick.  During  the  yellow 
fever  scourge  in  New  Orleans  a  most  heroic  service 
was  rendered  in  which  the  vice-president  of  the  Asso- 
ciation laid  down  his  life.  The  Montreal  Association 
employed  a  city  missionary,  while  another  Associa- 
tion reported  a  sewing  school  for  little  girls. 

With  such  diversity  in  its  program,  with  the  doub- 
ling of  the  number  of  Associations  in  a  single  year,  it 
is  not  surprising  that  the  American  movement  was 
carried  off  its  feet,  its  original  aim  obscured,  and  its 
efforts  directed  to  the  general  revival  work  which  at 
the  time  absorbed  the  entire  Church.  The  Kingston, 
Ontario,  Association  reported  apologetically:  ''The 
ground  of  the  Bible  Society  was  occupied,  also  that  of 
the  tract  society  and  the  city  missionary  and  the 
Sunday  school  instruction.  \\'e  contented  ourselves, 
therefore,  with  the  improvement  of  young  men." 
(Cincinnati  Report,  1855,  p.  13.) 

The  BufYalo  Association,  while  commending  these 
various  forms  of  effort  as  necessary  to  develop  the  re- 
ligious life  and  activity,  reports  that  their  main  ob- 
jective and  original  purpose  was  the  religious  welfare 
of  young  men.  The  clearest  conception  of  the  Asso- 
ciation's mission  is  found  in  the  work  of  the  New 
York  City  Association  which  kept  itself  aloof  from 


286  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

the  general  Association  movement.  This  society 
(Cincinnati  Convention  Report,  1855,  p.  20)  encour- 
aged its  members  to  engage  in  all  helpful  effort  under 
other  appropriate  auspices  but  confined  the  work  of 
the  organization  itself  "to  the  moral  and  spiritual  im- 
provement of  young  men." 

Langdon  was  absent  in  Europe  during  the  early 
months  of  1857.  His  conviction  had  been  steadily 
growing  that  the  Association  was  a  specialized 
agency  of  the  Church  limited  to  its  very  important 
field  of  work  for  young  men  by  young  men.  He  re- 
turned home  with  this  conviction  clarified  and 
strengthened  by  contact  with  the  Associations 
abroad.  He  found  the  attitude  of  the  American  As- 
sociations rapidly  changing  under  the  heat  of  the  re- 
vival. He  set  himself  with  all  his  ardent  nature  to 
stem  the  tide.  The  Association  seemed  to  be  desert- 
ing him  like  a  wayward  son  leaving  an  anxious  father. 

Upon  his  return  from  Europe,  Langdon  was  ap- 
pointed foreign  secretary  of  the  Central  Committee. 
He  was  present  at  the  Charleston  Convention  in  1858 
as  a  recently  ordained  Episcopal  clergyman.  Lang- 
don's  attitude  becomes  undoubtedly  more  ecclesiasti- 
cal from  this  time  on.  Shortly  afterwards  he  removed 
to  Philadelphia  to  begin  his  ministry.  He  sought  in 
vain  to  influence  the  Association  to  confine  its  work 
to  young  men  only  and  leave  to  the  Church  the  task 
of  preaching  to  the  masses. 

In  the  January  issue  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Journal,  1859  (p.  11),  Langdon  in  an  article  on  the 
London  Association  said:  "In  the  United  States  the 
great  revival  .  .  .  has  been  the  occasion  of  subject- 
ing cool  heads  to  warm  hearts  to  such  an  extent  that 
some  of  the  best  and  oldest  friends  of  the  institution 
among  the  clergy  of  more  than  one  denomination 
have  been  compelled  to  expose  themselves  to  the 
charge  of  unfaithfulness  and  decreasing  affection  by 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  287 

lifting-  up  a  warning  voice.  There  is  danger  before 
us  in  America  and  danger,  too,  the  more  to  be  feared 
that  it  comes  to  us  in  the  noblest  and  holiest  impulses. 
The  Bible  Society,  the  Tract  Society,  and  the  Ameri- 
can Sunday  School  Union,  those  great  societies  which 
have  so  long  and  so  harmoniously  united  Christians 
of  various  communions,  have  done  so  because  they 
have  a  clearly  defined  object  and  sphere  to  which  they 
are  limited  and  in  which  all  can  labor  because  they 
are  thus  preserved  clear  in  their  joint  action  from 
all  contact  with  denominational  principles.  .  .  .  The 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  not  an  institu- 
tion for  the  general  promulgation  of  the  Gospel,  but 
an  institution  to  fit  young  men  to  be,  'in  the  sphere  of 
their  daily  calling,'  efficient  supports  and  members  of 
the  institution  which  was  divinely  appointed  for  that 
work." 

Rev.  Alfred  Taylor  of  Philadelphia  replied  vigor- 
oush'  in  the  February  Journal,  stating  the  position  of 
the  leaders  who  favored  using  the  Association  for 
general  religious  effort.  He  quoted  Langdon  and  then 
stated  the  generally  accepted  view.  (The  Young 
Mens  Christian  Journal,  February,  1859,  pp.  28-29.) 
"  'The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  not  an 
institution  for  the  general  promulgation  of  the  Gos- 
pel.' I  had  always  thought  it  was.  I  have  looked  on  it 
as  an  agency,  and  a  very  direct  agency,  for  the  evan- 
gelization of  those  who  have  never  yet  been  reached 
by  the  Gospel,  and  I  think  that  a  large  majority  of  the 
Christians  who  have  been  connected  with  it  have  so 
considered  it.  .  .  .  There  is  work  enough  to  keep  both 
ministers  and  laymen  employed.  .  .  .  Fearful  and 
ultra-conservative  friends  may  raise  their  warning 
voice  in  alarm  lest  the  Church  should  be  over- 
whelmed, let  us  press  on  assured  that  it  will  not  be," 

This  controversy  which  was  to  last  for  over  twenty 
years  was  in   full   swing;   there   were   three   groups. 


288  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

First,  those  whose  absorbing  interest  was  in  any  form 
of  evangelistic  work.  Second,  those  who  wished  to 
carry  on  evangeh'stic  work  for  young  men,  minimiz- 
ing the  so-called  secular  agencies,  and  a  third  group 
who  wished  to  serve  young  men  in  an  all-round  man- 
ner, making  evangelistic  effort  a  fitting  part  of  the 
program. 

Another  group  arose  chiefly  outside  the  Associa- 
tion, who  began  to  criticise  the  movement  as  usurping 
the  work  of  the  Church.  Underlying  all  of  this  dis- 
cussion was  the  problem  of  allowing  the  growing  re- 
ligious interest  of  laymen  to  express  itself  wisely  and 
efficiently.  There  has  always  been  an  undiscriminat- 
ing  type  of  layman  who  plunges  crudely  into  any  form 
of  effort  provided  it  is  labeled  religious  and  there  has 
always  been  the  narrow  high-church  type  of  clergy- 
man who  cannot  discriminate  between  the  ministry 
and  the  Church  and  who  discounts  any  religious  effort 
which  is  not  done  under  denominational  auspices  and 
under  ministerial  control. 

Lanofdon  recognized  this  situation  and  sous^ht  to 
harmonize  these  conflicting  factions,  but  he  was  un- 
able to  do  so.  The  new  recruits  to  the  Association 
cause  repudiated  his  leadership  and  it  must  be  said  for 
the  most  part  could  not  comprehend  his  position. 
Langdon  himself,  having  now  given  his  life  to  the 
ministry,  was  inclined  to  be  less  cordial  than  formerly 
to  any  endeavor  not  carried  on  under  Church  aus- 
pices. 

Sec.  43. — A  Repudiated  Leader 
The  Troy  Convention  of  1859  was  the  ''climax  of 
the  Confederation  period."  The  chief  issues  were  the 
scope  and  aim  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation and  the  relation  of  the  Association  to  the 
Church.  Langdon  had  been  asked  to  address  the  con- 
vention and  he  took  this  occasion  to  ursre  his  convic- 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIOXS  289 

tion  before  a  body  ahnost  uiiaiiinuuisl\-  opposed  to 
him.  He  says  ("Early  Story  of  the  Confederation," 
Year  Book,  1888)  :  "I  had  already  resigned  my  minis- 
terial position  in  Philadelphia.  1  was  soon  to  go 
abroad  for  an  absence  of  an  indefinite  duration.  It 
was  possibly  the  last  time  I  should  be  able  to  meet 
my  brethren  in  consultation  upon  such  interest.  .  .  . 
I  resolved  to  make  an  attempt  at  least  to  arrest  this 
then  widely  spreading  impulse  which  seemed  to  me 
to  be  utterly  running  away  with  our  enthusiasm,  dis- 
sipating our  energies,  distracting  our  counsels,  nay, 
alienating  the  ministry  and  the  older  and  more 
w^eighty  lay  Christians  of  the  Church  and  thus  jeop- 
ardizing the  power  and  future  influence  of  the  Asso- 
ciation." 

There  were  289  delegates  at  Troy  from  seventy- 
two  Associations.  There  were  more  delegates  pres- 
ent than  at  the  five  preceding  conventions  com- 
bined. I'hiladelphia  was  represented  by  nineteen 
members,  who  took  the  leading  part  in  this  conven- 
tion. Its  chief  delegates  were  George  H.  Stuart,  John 
Wanamaker,  Rev.  George  S.  Fox,  and  Rev.  Alfred 
Taylor.  Langdon,  though  recognized  as  a  delegate 
because  of  his  position  as  foreign  secretary,  had  no 
credentials  from  the  Philadelphia  Association. 

New  York  City  for  the  first  time  sent  regularly  ap- 
pointed delegates.  They,  however,  took  only  a  sub- 
ordinate part  in  the  convention.  Cephas  Brainerd 
was  present  for  the  first  time  at  an  international  con- 
vention. New  England  sent  fifty-four  delegates  from 
seventeen  Associations.  H.  Thane  Miller  was  pres- 
ent from  Cincinnati ;  Munford  and  Watkins  from 
Richmond ;  Richards  and  Rhees  were  present  from 
Washington,  but  did  not  support  Langdon.  A  ma- 
jority of  the  delegates  had  never  attended  any  pre- 
vious convention  and  most  of  the  Associations  had 
never  been  previously   represented.      It   was   a   new 


290  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

body  of  men  with  little  consciousness  of  the  Associa- 
tion life  of  the  past  in  x\merica  and  almost  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  principles,  activities,  and  programs  of  the 
Associations  abroad. 

The  Central  Committee  from  Buffalo  were  repre- 
sented by  Gray,  Hall)ert,  and  Swan.  This  committee 
made  an  extended  report  of  the  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  Associations  due  to  the  revival  and  of  the 
abounding  activity  of  the  Associations  in  evangelistic 
work.  It  was  reported  that  a  vast  number  of  meet- 
ings were  being  carried  on  in  cities,  towns,  and  rural 
districts  all  over  America. 

One  feature  of  the  program  was  an  essay  presented 
by  A.  L.  Thompson  of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  on 
the  "Relation  of  the  Association  to  the  Church." 

The  Boston  Association  had  taken  a  distinctive 
step  at  the  very  start  in  allying  itself  with  the  Church 
by  requiring  that  active  members  must  be  members 
of  evangelical  churches.  This  made  the  Association 
practically  an  agency  of  the  united  churches.  To 
clarify  further  this  relationship,  a  resolution  was 
unanimously  adopted  at  the  Montreal  Convention 
(Montreal  Convention  Report,  1856,  p.  68)  as  fol- 
lows:  "Resolved,  .  ,  ,  that  we  do  not  intend  that  this 
institution  shall  take  the  highest  place  in  our  affec- 
tions or  the  largest  share  in  our  labors  but  that  we 
hold  this  organization  as  auxiliary  to  the  divinely  ap- 
pointed means  of  grace,  the  Church  and  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel."  This  resolution  was  reaffirmed  at  the 
Richmond  Convention  the  following  year  and  the  As- 
sociations were  urged  to  avoid  carefully  in  their  en- 
terprises anything  which  might  interfere  with  duties 
of  members  to  their  respective  churches. 

In  discussing  the  relation  of  the  Association  to  the 
Church,  Thompson  in  his  essay  said,  "To  a  certain 
class  of  minds  our  very  right  to  existence  is  not  with- 
out question,   inasmuch   as  that  existence   seems   to 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  291 

them  to  reflect  painfully  upon  the  Church."  (Troy 
Convention  Report,  1859,  p.  23.)  ''To  them  there  is  a 
tone  ahnost  of  insult  in  the  plea  that  a  work  un- 
accomplished and  a  want  not  ministered  to  call  us 
away." 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  Association  made  it  neces- 
sary to  have  a  clear  understanding  of  its  relation  to 
the  Church.  The  increasing  evangelistic  activity  in- 
tensified this  necessity.  Thompson  said,  "Witness  the 
tent  on  Boston  Common — in  the  squares  of  Phila- 
delphia and  Cincinnati — the  countless  neighborhood 
meetings — the  mission  schools  of  every  city  and  town 
of  size  in  the  land." 

Thompson  took  the  position  that  the  Association 
was  the  offspring  of  the  Church  and  that  it  was 
auxiliary  to  it.  He  went  still  further  and  took  the 
only  position  on  which  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  can  permanently  stand,  that  it  is  a  part 
of  the  Church.  He  said,  "Of  the  Church  these  Asso- 
ciations are  an  integral  part,  the  light-armed,  chosen, 
consecrated,  fleet  of  foot,  and  trusty  band  sent  out  to 
reconnoitre  and  open  the  way  for  salvation  to  follow." 

The  device  of  requiring  active  members  to  be  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  has  proved  a  statesmanly  plan.  It 
placed  the  Association  in  the  hands  of  laymen.  It 
made  the  Association  dependent  upon  the  Church  for 
support  but  it  left  the  Association  freedom  of  action 
in  its  own  affairs.  The  churches  have  adequate  con- 
trol because  the  Association  must  so  conduct  its 
affairs  as  to  merit  financial  support  and  Church  ap- 
proval. On  the  other  hand,  no  denomination  can  dic- 
tate the  details  of  Association  policy.  Thompson 
outlined  for  all  time  the  true  relationship  of  the  As- 
sociation to  the  Church  when  he  described  it  as  an 
"integral  part." 

The  Association  has  succeeded  in  uniting  itself  to 
the  denominations  and  at  the  same  time  retaining  its 


292  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

interdenominational  character.  It  has,  however,  never 
accepted  Langdon's  contention  that  it  must  not  fol- 
low any  policy  contrary  to  any  tenet  of  any  denomi- 
nation which  it  recognizes.  The  Association  has  re- 
tained the  right  of  independent  judgment  and  action.* 

Rev.  George  S.  Fox,  Episcopal  minister  from  Phila- 
delphia, presented  a  paper  which  aroused  an  extended 
debate  on  the  real  scope  and  mission  of  the  Associa- 
tion. It  was  closely  tied  up  with  the  discussion  of 
Thompson's  paper  on  the  "Relation  of  the  Associa- 
tion to  the  Church."  Its  subject  was  the  "Relation 
and  Duty  of  Associations  to  City,  Town,  and  Village 
Evangelization." 

Fox  set  out  to  argue  for  a  specialized  field  for  the 
Association.     He  said : 

"The  field  of  Christian  labor  is  as  vast  as  the  world 
itself,  the  classes  to  be  operated  upon,  as  varied  as 
the  ages  and  conditions  of  life,  and  the  idea  that  we, 

*  The  extensive  correspondence  of  recent  commissions  of  the  Asso- 
ciation in  relation  to  the  Churches  (see  report  of  the  Detroit  Inter- 
national Convention,  1919)  gave  evidence  of  continued  unrest  in  the 
ministry  regarding  the  Association's  relation  to  the  Churches.  Al- 
though our  continuous  control  since  the  Civil  War  period  has  been 
vested  in  Church  members,  the  Churches  do  not  consider  the  Associa- 
tion to  be  a  constituent  part.  It  is  something  aloof,  and  the  continu- 
ous claim  of  Association  members  that  the  Association  is  "a  part 
of  the  Churches"  and  "the  right  arm  of  the  Churches"  is  a  supposi- 
tion which  does  not  receive  similar  reiteration  at  the  hands  of 
Church  leaders. 

The  fact  is,  the  articulation  of  the  organized  Associations  with 
the  organized  Churches  is  not  perfected.  There  are  a  multitude  of 
other  societies  organized  and  administered  by  Christian  people  which 
the  Churches  as  such  do  not  claim  as  their  own,  though  they  are 
proud  to  have  promoted  the  principles  of  service  and  trained  the 
individuals  who  in  their  private  capacities  have  carried  forward 
these  good  works.  It  has  been  said  that  the  Church  is  a  poor  execu- 
tor of  her  own  ideals.  It  must  be  said  equally  that  the  Association 
is  an  imperfect  exponent  of  its  theory  of  its  being  dominated  by  the 
Churches.  The  official  unity  of  the  Association  with  these  great 
spiritual  forces  waits  for  solution.  The  spiritual  unarticulated  unity 
of  Church  people  with  the  Association  for  the  ideals  and  service  of 
the  Association  is  much  stronger  than  the  official. — R.  E.  L. 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  293 

as  an  Association,  should  attcnij^t  to  occupy  the 
whole  field  or  to  meet  the  wants  of  every  class  ought 
not  to  gain  a  second  thought  from  any  intelligent 
considerator  of  the  nature  and  capacity  of  our  organi- 
zations and  yet  it  is  by  a  practical  ignoring  of  this  in- 
ability that  many  of  our  Associations  are  wasting 
their  energies  and  destroying  their  capability  to  per- 
form the  work  for  which  we  believe  they  were  called 
into  being. 

"We  hold  that  the  ol)ject  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations,  as  their  name  implies,  is  and 
ought  to  be  the  moral  elevation  of  young  men  and 
that  any  Association  departs  widely  from  its  high  call- 
ing when  it  engages  in  works  no  matter  how  good 
and  praiseworthy  in  themselves,  ...  if  they  have 
not  especial  bearing  upon  this  particular  class. 

"The  establishment  of  this  position  indeed  narrows 
our  field  of  labor  but  it  in  the  same  proportion  con- 
centrates our  energies." 

Fox,  without  any  apparent  sense  of  incongruity, 
then  went  on  to  recommend  the  establishment  of 
union  prayer  meetings  as  one  of  the  great  means 
for  promoting  the  object  of  the  Associations.  He 
submitted  the  following  resolutions:  "1.  That  the 
w^ork  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is 
preeminently  the  evangelization  of  young  men  and 
that  all  efforts  which  we  put  forth  in  the  capacity  of 
its  members  should  have  special  bearing  upon  this 
class.  ...  4.  That  union  prayer  meetings  and 
preaching  in  places  where  congregations  of  young 
men  can  best  be  obtained  have  .  .  .  proved  to  be  so 
peculiarly  fitted  to  our  organization  that  this  conven- 
tion commends  them  to  the  Associations  of  the  coun- 
try at  large." 

Eells  of  Cleveland  opposed  the  position  taken  by 
Fox.  He  said,  speaking  of  small  communities :  "You 
cannot  keep  up  the  life  and  spirit  of  such  organiza- 


294  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

tions  unless  you  give  them  Sabbath  school  work,  mis- 
sion work,  and  tract  distribution.  There  should  be 
plenty  for  members  to  do  in  the  evangelization  of 
whole  neighborhoods  everywhere  with  all  classes, 
sexes,  ages.  ...  I  cannot  endorse  the  idea  that  all 
the  work  of  Christian  Associations  should  be  con- 
fined to  the  evangelization  of  young  men." 

Rev.  G.  G.  Smith  of  Macon,  Georgia,  "dissented 
from  the  recommendations  of  the  essay."  Even 
McCormick  of  New  York,  an  old  Association  leader, 
said,  "Let  us  go  in  and  occupy  every  field  not  already 
occupied." 

Eells  proposed  as  a  substitute  for  Fox's  resolution, 
"Resolved  that  while  we  should  work  especially  in 
behalf  of  young  men,  for  the  sake  of  our  Association, 
as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  our  Master's  cause,  we 
should  be  ready  to  enter  upon  any  work  which  He 
shall  open  before  us." 

Langdon  at  once  replied,  reading  from  the  Cin- 
cinnati Convention  Report  to  show  that  Eells  then 
reported  a  resolution  maintaining  that  the  aim  of  the 
Association  was  the  evangelization  of  young  men. 
Eells  replied  that  "the  work  of  two  years  had  changed 
the  character  of  such  organizations  and  given  them 
new  power."     A  long  debate  followed. 

At  a  later  session  Langdon  presented  his  paper  on 
"The  Duty  of  the  Association  to  Young  Men."  In 
this  paper  Langdon  introduced  a  new  element  into 
the  controversy,  which  was  already  at  a  white  heat. 
He  urged  first  that  the  only  legitimate  field  of  the 
Association  was  work  for  young  men,  and  second  that 
in  the  promoting  of  that  work  the  Associations  must 
not  violate  the  convictions  of  any  of  the  denomina- 
tions of  which  the  Association  is  composed;  that 
certain  of  these  denominations  held  that  the  Church 
was  the  only  constituted  authority  for  the  "gen- 
eral  propagation   of  the    Gospel"   and   that   the   As- 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  295 

sociations  were  in  danger  of  usurping  its  function. 
In  closing  he  submitted  the  following  resolutions. 

"...  Third,  Resolved — that  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  is  not  an  institution  for  the 
general  propagation  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  not  hers 
to  enter  upon  the  work  of  evangelization  nor  upon 
the  independent  exercise  of  any  of  the  functions  of 
the  visible  Church  of  Christ;  but  it  is  rather  a  func- 
tion of  the  Church  under  its  entire  control  and  auxil- 
iary and  subordinate  to  the  same  and,  therefore,  in- 
capable of  entering  upon  any  field  of  labor  which  may 
not  be  virtually  and  practically  the  common  field  of 
each  and  every  denomination  in  the  Association 
rather  than  the  field  of  the  Association  itself. 

"Resolved — that  the  institution  abides  by  its  his- 
toric position,  that  it  is  an  institution  for  the  'forma- 
tion and  development  in  young  men  of  Christian 
character  and  Christian  activity'  and 

"That  it  deprecates  any  departure  from  this  limita- 
tion of  its  sphere  as  greatly  detrimental  to  its  influ- 
ence and  usefulness." 

William  H.  Fowle  of  Alexandria  "regretted  exceed- 
ingly the  introduction  of  this  paper — he  differed  from 
it  in  toto."  He  presented  an  answer  to  each  item. 
The  debate  was  postponed  to  a  later  session  when  the 
resolutions  of  Langdon,  Fox,  and  Eells  were  all 
brought  up  together. 

Fox  failed  to  support  his  previous  contention.  He 
withdrew  his  resolution  limiting  the  field  of  the  Asso- 
ciation to  young  men  and  accepted  the  substitute  pre- 
sented by  Eells,  thus  abandoning  Langdon  to  his  fate. 
Langdon  later  vividly  described  the  scene  as  follows : 

"Of  this  discussion  the  report  in  the  Convention 
journal  gives  no  real  account  and  it  notes  but  a  frac- 
tion of  what  was  said.  The  Philadelphia  Presbyterian 
was  accurate  in  saying  that  a  Svarm  debate  ensued.'  " 

"Nothing   could   be   kinder   nor   more    considerate 


296  VOUA'G  MEXS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

than  the  personal  treatment  I  received.  .  .  .  But 
not  a  voice  was  raised  for  the  position  which  I  de- 
fended. Some  speakers  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the 
churches  had  wholly  failed,  that  their  division  had  put 
it  out  of  their  power  to  evangelize  the  world,  and  that 
the  Association  had,  therefore,  been  raised  up  to  do 
this  work  in  their  stead.  Others  were  content  with 
insisting-  that  as  a  Christian  body  we  were  bound  to 
do  any  Christian  work  that  we  could. 

"As  for  my  resolutions,  the  Presbyterian  adds, 
'Everyone  spoke  against  them.  .  .  .  Mr.  Langdon 
was  like  a  lone  sheep  among  three  hundred  ravenous 
wolves.*  All  the  speeches  can  be  summed  into  a  very 
few  words ;  they  were  all  against  the  resolutions.' 

"The  excitement  was  great;  the  situation  was 
really  dramatic.  I  felt  that  I  was  contending  not 
only  for  my  own  footing  in  the  Associations  .  .  .  but 
for  the  whole  future  of  the  Associations  themselves, 
for  their  relations  to  those  in  the  old  world,  and  for 
their  place  in  respect  to  the  Church  of  Christ. 

"The  rule  restricting  a  member  to  a  single  speech 
was  suspended  in  my  favor.     Standing  at  bay  as  it 

*  The  majority  against  Langdon  was  wrong,  as  majorities  usually 
are  when  it  comes  to  moral  leadership.  This  is  history.  Social 
righteousness  is  as  great  a  human  cause,  following  the  European 
War  of  1914-1918,  as  slaverj-  was  during  the  Civil  War,  but  it  is 
doubtful  if  America  has  suffered  enough  in  the  great  war  to  bring 
about  a  general  atonement  and  appreciation  of  what  is  involved  in 
the  social  reconstruction  of  Jesus.  We  shall  probably  have  to  suffer 
more  before  we  will  be  sensitive  to  the  will  of  Christ  for  the  social 
order.  There  are  men  who  argue  now  that  questions  involving 
profits,  capital,  labor,  wealth,  should  not  be  discussed  in  the  Associa- 
tion because  it  will  "split  the  brotherhood."  If  Langdon  had  listened 
to  what  the  men  said  about  him  in  his  day,  he  would  have  kept  still, 
for  it  is  evident  that  the  position  which  he  took  and  defended  was 
violently  assailed,  as  was  he  personally,  but  ultimately  he  changed 
the  course  of  the  whole  movement.  Langdon's  exhilarating  example 
is  before  the  young  and  progressive  leaders  of  our  day.  They  have 
principles  of  greater  importance  even  to  fight  for  in  the  final  redemp- 
tion of  the  Association  Movement  to  the  complete  service  of 
society. — R.  E.  L. 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  297 

were  at  the  foot  of  the  pulpit  stair,  I  made  nearly 
every  other  speech,  contending  for  hours  practically 
against  the  whole  convention.  I  spoke  with  all  the 
powers  of  my  intellect,  with  all  the  energies  of  my 
soul.  I  was  forced  back  step  by  step  and  hope  by 
hope  from  the  institution  for  which  I  had  labored  so 
long,  which  I  loved  so  truly  and  for  which  I  had  ex- 
pected so  much. 

"What  this  cost  me,  I  am  sure  that  many  realized, 
for  other  voices  than  mine  were  choked  in  utterance. 
But  my  first  allegiance  was  due  to  my  Church.  Even 
in  the  Association  it  was  due  to  duty  and  truth. 
When,  therefore,  without  a  single  dissentient  voice 
save  my  own  my  resolutions  were  utterly  rejected  and 
one  adopted  declaring  that  the  Associations  'should 
be  ready  to  enter  upon  any  work  He  shall  open  before 
us'  I  had  but  one  thing  to  do.  I  had  virtually  been 
shut  out." 

'"The  scene,''  said  the  Philadelphia  Presbyterian, 
"was  very  affecting,  nearly  all  the  delegates  being  in 
tears  at  parting  with  their  beloved  leader."  It  is  an 
interesting  incident  to  which  Richard  C.  }^Iorse  has 
called  attention  that  Cephas  Brainerd,  who  was  later 
to  lead  the  Associations  back  to  their  appropriate 
field  of  work  for  young  men  by  young  men,  listened 
to  this  discussion  and  was  the  one  to  move  that  the 
debate  be  closed. 

A\'e  cannot  sympathize  with  Langdon's  fear  that 
the  Association  would  override  or  usurp  the  function 
of  the  Church,  but  history  must  without  equivocation 
vindicate  his  position  that  it  must  have  a  limited 
specialized  field  if  it  is  to  prosper  or  prove  its  right 
to  exist.  Some  statements  in  Langdon's  resolutions 
might  be  pressed  to  mean  that  the  Association  should 
leave  all  religious  meetings  and  religious  instruction 
to  be  carried  on  by  the  churches,  limiting  the  Asso- 
ciations to  purely  social  activities. 


298  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

The  Troy  Convention  marks  the  close  of  Langdon's 
brilliant,  devoted,  and  almost  passionate  leadership 
of  the  American  Association  movement.  For  seven 
years,  though  a  busy  young  man  struggling  to  make 
his  own  w^ay  in  the  world,  he  had  been  the  dominant 
personality,  the  original  thinker,  the  creative  and 
fearless  spirit  who  gave  direction  and  vision  to  the 
infant  organization.  At  twenty-one  he  joined  with 
two  other  young  men  in  founding  the  Washington 
Association.  He  became  its  first  corresponding  sec- 
retary. In  the  same  year  he  conceived  the  idea  of 
confederating  the  American  Associations.  At  twenty- 
three  he  succeeded  in  assembling  the  Buffalo  Con- 
vention and  in  securing  the  passage  of  the  resolutions 
establishing  the  Confederation.  He  was  made  general 
secretary  of  the  first  Central  Committee.  At  twenty- 
four  in  his  reports  and  official  communications  he  for- 
mulated the  policy  of  international  supervision  and 
secured  the  ratification  of  the  Confederation  by  the 
local  Associations.  At  twenty-five  he  became  foreign 
secretary  of  the  Central  Committee.  At  twenty-six 
he  toured  at  his  own  expense  the  Associations  of 
Europe  and  developed  the  foreign  policy  of  the  Amer- 
ican Association,  At  twenty-eight  at  the  Troy  Con- 
vention he  stood  alone  against  the  three  hundred 
delegates,  who  under  the  spell  of  the  great  revival 
proposed  to  divert  the  Association  from  its  distinctive 
field  and  make  it  practicall}^  a  substitute  for  the 
Church. 

It  is  interesting  that  Langdon  rendered  all  of  this 
service  as  a  volunteer  and  was  never  a  salaried  officer. 

At  the  Troy  Convention  Richard  C.  McCormick  of 
New  York  succeeded  Langdon  as  foreign  secretary. 
The  convention  voted  to  transfer  the  headquarters  of 
the  Association  to  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  to  hold 
the  convention  for  1860  at  New  Orleans. 

In  the  meantime  unobserved  by  the  Central  Com- 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  299 

niittcc  or  any  of  the  leaders  there  was  taking  place 
the  hcgiiinings  of  a  niovenient  which  w\as  destined  to 
become  one  of  the  greatest  religious  influences  in 
modern  life. 


Sec.  44. — Student  Associations 

One  of  the  great  movements  inspired  by  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  has  been  the  organiza- 
tion and  development  of  the  religious  life  of  students 
throughout  the  world.  This  result  has  been  due  to 
spontaneous  effort  among  students  as  well  as  to  con- 
tact with  the  Association.  Such  organizations  as  the 
"Society  of  Christian  Brethren,''  founded  at  Harvard 
in  1802,  and  the  various  societies  of  religious  inquiry 
were  significant  of  the  early  religious  interest  among 
students.  The  greatest  impetus  w^as  given  by  the 
missionary  awakening  at  Williams  College  in  1806, 
which  resulted  in  a  student  missionary  society  two 
years  later  and  indirectly  contributed  to  the  founding 
of  the  Philadelphia  Society  at  Princeton  in  1825. 
("Student  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Move- 
ment of  North  America,"  Shedd,  1914,  p.  28.)  This 
organization  at  Princeton  was  later  more  influential 
in  promoting  the  intercollegiate  student  Association 
movement  than  any  of  the  small  group  of  student 
organizations  which  prior  to  1877  bore  the  name  of 
or  were  recognized  as  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations. 

The  earliest  of  these  societies  were  organized  in 
1858  at  the  Universities  of  Michigan  and  Virginia. 
It  is  an  immensely  interesting  fact  that  they  were  in- 
spired by  the  great  revival  which  w^as  at  that  time 
stirring  the  religious  life  of  the  entire  country.  While 
the  organization  of  these  two  student  Associations 
did  not  lead  immediately  to  a  widespread  movement 
among  students,  they  are  significant  as  pioneers  and 


300  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

forerunners  of  one  of  the  most  fruitful  religious 
movements  of  modern  times. 

We  will  not  enter  into  the  discussion  as  to  which 
society  is  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of 
the  student  Association  movement.  It  is  doubtful  if 
either  deserves  this  honor.  This  matter  is  fully  pre- 
sented by  C.  P.  Shedd  in  his  thesis  on  the  student 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  It  would  be 
difificult  to  maintain  that  the  student  Association 
movement  has  ever  been  fully  dominated  by  the 
Association  or  has  ever  accepted  the  full  program  of 
the  modern  Association.  It  has  remained  up  to  the 
present  time  the  religious  and  missionary  organiza- 
tion of  the  colleges  analogous  to  the  Williams  and 
Princeton  societies  and  has  never  taken  control  of  or 
had  the  power  to  unify  and  manage  the  activities  of 
undergraduate  student  life,  as  is  done  in  the  army 
huts  for  the  soldiers  or  in  the  city  Association  for  its 
members.  The  student  Association  has  never  been 
able  to  dominate  the  leisure  time  of  the  undergradu- 
ate or  develop  a  program  for  the  training  of  the  whole 
man.  This  has  been  left  to  the  university,  and  the 
student  movement  has  usually  confined  itself  to  reli- 
gious work,  though  in  many  large  institutions  build- 
ings are  maintained  as  social  resorts.  This  speciali- 
zation on  the  religious  life  has  made  the  student 
movement  the  most  advanced  in  spiritual  work  of  any 
group  of  Associations. 

When  the  revival  of  1857-1S58  was  at  its  height  in 
Philadelphia  a  union  prayer  meeting  was  carried  on 
by  the  city  Association  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  two  institutions  where  the  revival  left 
the  most  permanent  result  were  the  state  universities 
of  Michigan  and  Virginia. 

In  the  winter  of  1857  a  marked  religious  interest 
arose  among  the  students  at  Ann  Arbor.  During  the 
Christmas  holidays  a  daily  prayer  meeting  was  held 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  301 

in  the  room  of  one  of  the  nndergradiiates  which  was 
attended  by  representatives  of  each  of  the  four 
classes.  One  of  these  students  who  hiter  became  a 
member  of  the  faculty  was  Adam  K.  Spence.  His 
mother,  Airs.  Ehzabeth  K.  Spence,  suggested  to  him 
the  advisabibty  of  organizing  a  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  among  the  students.  Mrs.  Spence 
gave  the  students  an  account  of  the  work  of  this  so- 
ciety and  later  wrote  some  verses  which  commemo- 
rated the  new  organization  established  at  Ann  Arbor. 
A  committee  of  the  students  made  a  favoral)le  report 
and  the  society  was  organized  early  in  1858.  No 
written  constitution  prior  to  1859  has  been  preserved 
and  the  organization,  while  commonly  referred  to  as 
a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  was  named  in 
the  constitution  the  "Student  Christian  Association." 
Spence  later  became  active  in  work  among  students 
and  in  1868  at  the  International  Convention  at 
Detroit  urged  a  resolution  in  favor  of  a  movement  to 
establish  student  Associations  in  all  institutions  of 
learning.  This  resolution  failed  of  adoption,  but  by 
Professor  Spence's  effort  a  similar  resolution  was 
passed  two  years  later  at  the  convention  at  Indianap- 
olis. 

In  the  judgment  of  C.  P.  Shedd  the  organization 
at  the  University  of  Virginia  more  fully  embodied 
the  true  conception  of  a  college  Young  ]\Ien's  Chris- 
tian Association  than  the  Student  Christian  Associa- 
tion at  Ann  Arbor,  though  it  is  evident  the  Ann  Arbor 
society  has  had  a  continuous  existence  since  Febru- 
ary, 1858. 

Charlottesville,  in  the  edge  of  the  Blue  Ridge  range, 
which  Poe  romantically  called  the  "ragged  moun- 
tains of  Virginia,"  had  for  over  thirty  years  been  the 
home  of  the  most  eastern  and  southern  state  univer- 
sity in  America,  founded  on  plans  drawn  by  that  ver- 
satile statesman,  Thomas  Jefferson.     The  university 


302  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

was  regarded  as  a  godless  institution  by  the  more 
conservatively  orthodox,  but  it  had  in  its  organiza- 
tions a  spiritual  leader  of  fine  type  and  great  influ- 
ence in  the  chaplain,  Rev.  Denby  Carr  Harrison,  the 
forerunner  of  the  brilliant  group  of  college  general 
secretaries  who  have  served  as  Christian  leaders  of 
the  modern  undergraduate  world.  Shedd  points 
out  Harrison's  share  in  establishing  and  promoting 
the  Virginia  organization. 

In  the  tide  of  the  great  revival  a  local  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  was  organized  in  Charlottes- 
ville. This  is  recorded  in  the  Quarterly  Reporter  for 
April,  1858.  Undoubtedly  the  organization  of  this 
Association  in  the  little  college  town  furnished  the 
model  for  the  university  Association.  The  religious 
interest  of  the  community  spread  to  the  university. 
Early  in  1858  student  meetings  were  held  and  Chris- 
tian students  from  the  university  were  most  earnest 
in  fostering  religious  work  in  the  rural  regions  in 
the  vicinity.  In  fact,  the  religious  destitution  of  the 
adjacent  country  was  one  of  the  leading  motives  for 
founding  the  university  Association  which  in  a  short 
time  was  sending  out  regularly  some  fifty  students  to 
conduct  religious  services  and  lead  Sunday  schools. 

The  Association  at  the  University  of  Virginia  was 
formally  organized  in  October,  1858,  by  the  adoption 
of  a  constitution  which  gave  as  its  object  (Shedd,  p. 
62)  "the  improvement  of  the  spiritual  condition  of 
the  students  and  the  extension  of  religious  advan- 
tages to  the  destitute  points  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  university." 

The  story  of  the  origin  of  this  Association  is  thus 
told  at  length  in  the  Young  Men's  CJiristian  Journal 
for  March,^1859  (p.  59) : 

"The  wonderful  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  Grace 
during  the  past  year  did  not,  it  seems,  entirely  fail  of 
reviving  influences  in  our  midst.     Towards  the  close 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  303 

of  the  last  session,  a  decided  increase  in  the  rehgious 
interest  at  the  university  was  manifested  by  the  es- 
tabhshment  of  a  daily  prayer  meeting  (which  was 
kept  up  for  some  time),  by  renewed  zeal  on  the  part 
of  many  professing  Christians,  and  a  greater  desire 
to  advance  the  cause  of  Christ  among  us.  At  the 
same  time,  what  had  already  attracted  attention  and 
elicited  effort,  viz.,  the  religious  destitution  and  com- 
parative spiritual  as  well  as  mental  darkness  prevail- 
ing in  an  adjoining  section  of  the  county,  began  to 
appeal  more  strongly  to  our  hearts.  The  zeal  thus 
quickened,  the  need  thus  felt,  was  doubtless,  and,  I 
may  say,  the  occasion  of  the  formation  of  the  Chris- 
tian Association  of  the  University.  Initiatory  steps 
to  its  formation  were  taken  by  several  of  the  students, 
aided  and.  directed  by  our  earnest  and  devoted  chap- 
lain, at  the  close  of  the  last  session,  in  the  latter  part 
of  July,  1858.  The  Association  has  only  this  session 
been  permanently  organized,  thus  we  have  had  but 
a  short  time  to  test  our  operations  practically;  but 
from  present  indications,  we  have  every  reason  to  be 
encouraged  to  persevere.  Starting  with  between 
forty  and  fifty  members,  our  number  has  increased, 
since  the  meeting  in  November,  to  nearly  one  hun- 
dred; among  these  we  have  earnest  laborious  Chris- 
tians, and  our  committee  on  religious  meetings,  etc., 
has  found  means  of  employing  some  of  them  as  teach- 
ers for  the  Sunday  school  in  the  neighboring  moun- 
tains, as  conductors  of  religious  exercises  at  the  alms- 
house, and  for  the  colored  people  of  the  university; 
while  our  standing  committee,  composed  of  members 
from  the  various  boarding-houses  connected  with 
the  university,  affords  opportunities  which  have  been 
improved  for  the  Christian  activity  of  others  in  the 
exercise  of  personal  influence,  the  distribution  of 
tracts,  collections  for  benevolent  objects,  and  main- 
tenance of  social  prayer  meetings  at  different  points 


304  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

among  the  students.  The  good  influence  of  these  last 
has  shown  itself  in  very  marked  results.  In  some 
cases,  deep  interesr  has  appeared,  and  personal  atten- 
tion to  religion  among  those  hitherto  unconcerned, 
and  the  hopeful  conversion  of  several  promising 
young  men  have  gladdened  our  hearts. 

"Our  committee  on  lectures  and  addresses  have  be- 
gun their  work,  and  are  exerting  themselves  to  main- 
tain this  interesting  feature  in  our  plan. 

"The  regular  meetings  held  on  the  first  ^Monday  of 
every  month  have  been  well  attended;  and  with  some 
sacrifice  of  time  on  the  part  of  those  conducting  the 
business,  good  management,  and  judicious  variety, 
they  may  continue  to  attract  and  interest.  The  meet- 
ings of  the  executive  committee  are  held  as  occasion 
demands.  This  committee,  elected  at  the  regular 
meetings  of  the  Association  in  October  and  Febru- 
ary, constitutes  the  official  management  of  the  so- 
ciety. 

"The  distinctive  principles  your  circular  refers  to, 
viz.,  Christian  union  and  the  recognition  of  individual 
Christian  duty,  we  have  all  thus  far  been  laboring 
harmoniously  to  advance,  with  some  degree  of  suc- 
cess under  the  divine  blessing.  AVe  would  ask  your 
cooperation  as  far  as  possible,  your  sympathy,  and 
your  prayers,  that  the  divine  favor  may  be  vouch- 
safed to  us  in  carrying  on  this  work  at  so  important  a 
point  with  such  great  prospects  for  good." 

The  Association  at  the  University  of  Virginia  ap- 
plied for  admission  to  the  Confederation  and  became 
a  member  in  April,  1860.  No  student  representative 
of  any  college  association  was  present  at  any  of  the 
international  conventions  held  during  this  period. 

The  student  associations  at  the  Universities  of 
Michigan  and  Virginia  sprang  up  during  the  admin- 
istration of  the  third  Central  Committee  located  at 
Buffalo,  but  were  not  fostered  by  it  in  any  special 


L.-l  TER  A DMJNJS  TRA  Tl  ONS  305 

manner   nor   regarded   as   a    distinct    department    of 
work. 

It  is  probable,  however,  but  for  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  War  that  the  work  among  college  students 
would  have  spread  rapidly.* 

Sec.  45. — Administration  of  the  Fourth  Central 
Committee 

Richmond,  July,  1859,  to  April,  1860 

The  Richmond  Central  Committee  followed  in  the 
footsteps  of  its  predecessors.  It  published  the  Young 
Mens  Christian  Journal,  promoted  visitation  and  cor- 
respondence, and  called  what  proved  to  be  the  last 
convention  of  the  Confederation  period  at  New  Or- 
leans in  April,  1860. 

Interest  in  the  New  Orleans  Convention  centers 
around  the  resolutions  recommending  physical  train- 
ing and  recreation  as  a  part  of  the  program  of  the 
Association.  At  New  Orleans  itself  as  early  as  1854 
"healthful  amusement"  was  conducted.  At  the  Mont- 
real Convention,  however,  the  resolutions  proposed 
by  Rhees  of  Washington  favoring  amusements  and 
physical  training  had  been  laid  on  the  table.  The 
Cincinnati  Central  Committee,  in  its  report  to  the 
Richmond  Convention  in  1857,  discounted  secular 
agencies.     In  the  same  year,  hoAvever,  Henry  Ward 

*  In  historical  fairness  it  must  be  pointed  out  that  the  American 
Associations,  as  contrasted  with  the  European,  have  immensely 
benefited  in  leadership  and  breadth  of  view  from  the  student  branches 
and  the  infiltration  of  an  educated  leadership.  The  conservative 
element  from  time  to  time  has  produced  a  spokesman  who  feared 
the  student  branches  and  felt  himself  estranged  at  their  progres- 
siveness.  This  has  only  served  to  illustrate  their  contribution  to  the 
progress  of  the  whole  movement  in  the  United  States,  through  the 
Student  Volunteer  Branch  and  the  foreign  service,  and  to  the  prog- 
ress of  civilization  in  less-favored  nations. 

The  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth  must  be  socially  righteous ;  rich 
and  poor  in  America  must  look  to  the  educational  centers  for  that 
combination  of  idealism  and  courage  which  will  make  the  new  day 
realizable. — R.  E.  L. 


306  YOUNG  MUX'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

Beecher,  at  the  anniversary  of  the  Boston  Associa- 
tion, urged  that  both  amusements  and  physical  rec- 
reation l)e  made  a  part  of  the  Association's  activities. 
The  year  following  at  the  Second  World's  Confer- 
ence at  Geneva,  Switzerland,  Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone  of 
London  advocated  recreation  and  athletic  sports. 

At  the  convention  at  New  Orleans  Leonard  Chapin 
of  the  Charleston  Association  proposed  the  following 
resolutions,  which  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
Committee  on  Associations  were  unanimously 
adopted : 

"In  view  of  the  importance  and  necessity  of  a  place 
of  rational  and  innocent  amusement  and  recreation 
for  young  men  especially  in  large  cities  and  towns, 
be  it 

"Resolved,  that  the  establishment  of  gymnasiums 
is  both  desirable  and  expedient,  provided  they  be  in 
all  cases  under  the  exclusive  control  of  such  Asso- 
ciations as  may  conclude  to  adopt  this  feature  as  a 
safeguard  against  the  allurements  of  objectionable 
places  of  resort,  which  have  proved  the  ruin  of  thou- 
sands of  the  youth  of  our  country. 

"Resolved,  that  it  be  recommended  to  the  Associa- 
tions to  make  their  rooms  as  pleasant  and  attractive 
as  possible  and  that  to  this  end  they  be  recommended 
wherever  it  is  practicable  to  procure  such  scientific 
apparatus  as  will  tend  to  instruct,  amuse,  and  improve 
young  men  who  may  visit  the  rooms." 

These  resolutions  were  carried  and  were  the  first 
acceptance  by  an  American  convention  of  physical 
education  and  recreation  as  a  part  of  the  program  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

While  these  resolutions  failed  to  recommend  in- 
door games,  as  there  was  much  opposition  from  many 
quarters,  they  signify  a  remarkable  advance  in  the 
direction  of  promoting  the  club  life  of  the  Associa- 
tion and  increasing  its  attractiveness  as  a  resort. 


LATER  ADMINISTRATIONS  307 

The  New  Orleans  Convention  voted  to  transfer  the 
headquarters  of  the  Association  to  Philadelphia. 
George  H.  Stuart  was  appointed  chairman  and  John 
Wanamaker  became  one  of  the  active  leaders.  It 
was  fortunate  that  the  machinery  for  supervision  was 
located  in  a  Northern  city,  as  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War  practically  effaced  the  Associations  of  the 
South  and  destroyed  the  leadership  they  were  exer- 
cising in  the  Confederation.  The  convention  called 
for  St.  Louis  for  1861  was  never  held,  but  Stuart 
called  a  special  convention  in  November  in  New 
York  City  which  inaugurated  the  United  States  Chris- 
tian Commission,  the  first  organized  effort  to  provide 
both  spiritual  and  temporal  opportunities  for  men 
under  arms.  The  Philadelphia  Committee  continued 
in  authority  throughout  the  Civil  War  and  until  the 
Albany  Convention  of  1866,  when  the  Central  Com- 
mittee was  located,  as  it  proved,  permanently,  in  New 
York  City. 


CHAPTER  V 

INTERRELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE 

We  pass  now  to  consider  the  foreign  relations  of 
the  American  Associations  and  will  sketch  rapidly 
the  contacts  between  the  American  Associations  and 
those  abroad. 

It  was  during  the  years  of  the  Confederation  that 
the  foundations  of  an  effective  foreign  policy  were 
laid.  It  was  to  London  that  the  American  Associa- 
tions looked  back  with  filial  affection.  Interest  in  the 
movement  on  the  continent  of  Europe  also  developed 
with  acquaintance.  ''Likeness  of  kind"  was  a  social 
force  which  drew  these  scattered  societies  together 
with  an  irresistible  spiritual  attraction. 

The  Boston  society  had  originated  the  idea  of  ap- 
pointing a  corresponding  secretary.  The  early  As- 
sociations followed  this  example.  The  first  Central 
Committee  appointed  a  general  secretary  whose  func- 
tion after  the  first  year  was  divided  into  two — one  for 
home  and  the  other  for  foreign  correspondence. 
These  arrangements  did  much  to  promote  interrela- 
tions. The  office  of  corresponding  secretary  led  its 
incumbent  to  look  beyond  his  local  field.  This  de- 
veloped a  number  of  important  leaders.  Langdon  re- 
ceived his  first  training  as  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  local  Association  at  Washington.  It  was  this  posi- 
tion which  led  him  to  found  the  international  work 
on  this  continent  and  to  become  interested  in  the 
Associations  abroad.  Robert  McCartee  and  Richard 
C.  McCormick  each  served  the  New  York  Associa- 
tion as  corresponding  secretary.    They  were  the  most 


INTERRELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE  309 

active  of  the  members  of  the  New  York  society  in 
general  affairs,  McCormick  made  a  tour  of  the 
American  Associations  in  which  he  visited  more  local 
societies  than  any  other  leader.  He  was  also  the  first 
American  to  make  a  tour  of  the  Associations  of 
Europe. 

The  Central  Committee  followed  the  practice  of 
the  local  Associations  and  appointed  a  corresponding 
secretary.  The  men  who  served  in  this  capacity  were 
Langdon,  Rhees,  Neft,  Lowry,  and  McCormick. 
These  were  the  men  who  developed  the  foreign  rela- 
tions of  the  American  Associations.  They  created  a 
genuine  foreign  policy  which  has  come  to  be  one  of 
the  largest  factors  in  the  American  work.  This  policy 
was  one  of  frequent  cordial  intercourse.  It  resulted, 
on  the  one  hand,  in  America's  learning  and  appro- 
priating much  of  value  from  foreign  Associations  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  in  stimulating  the  American  As- 
sociations later  to  promote  the  movement  throughout 
the  world.  It  delivered  the  Associations  from  paro- 
chialism and  led  them  to  become  international  in 
spirit.  The  intercourse  of  this  period  consisted  of 
correspondence,  exchange  of  publications,  intervisi- 
tation,  and  the  granting  of  travelers'  membership 
tickets  to  Americans  traveling  abroad.  The  inter- 
visitation  was  by  delegates  to  conventions  and  anni- 
versaries and  through  tours  by  leading  representa- 
tives. 

The  British  leaders  who  were  especially  influential 
in  America  were  Dr.  T.  H.  Gladstone  and  Dr.  William 
Arthur,  both  of  the  London  Association.  Doctor 
Gladstone  spent  a  number  of  months  with  the  Ameri- 
can Associations  and  was  one  of  the  speakers  at  the 
Montreal  Convention  in  1856. 

Leaders  from  North  America  were  present  at  the 
World's  Conventions  in  1855  and  at  Geneva  in  1858; 
also  at  manv  anniversaries  of  the  London  Associa- 


310  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

tion  and  at  the  first  British  Convention  at  Leeds  in 
1858. 

Some  of  the  Irish  and  Enghsh  Associations  also 
undertook  to  introduce  members  who  were  migrat- 
ing to  America  to  the  Associations  of  New  York  and 
other  cities. 

The  chief  influences  from  abroad  were  from  the 
London  Association  and  the  Paris  Convention 
(1855).  The  many  American  visitors  to  the  London 
Association  received  the  most  cordial  greetings  from 
T.  H.  Tarlton,  the  honorary  secretary,  and  his  assist- 
ant and  successor,  W.  E,  Shipton.  They  brought 
home  ideas  of  the  need  of  well-equipped  rooms,  of 
employed  officers,  and  of  classes  for  Bible  study. 
From  the  Paris  Convention  and  the  letters  of  J.  Paul 
Cook,  then  president  of  the  Paris  Association,  the 
American  Associations  received  the  "Paris  Basis," 
which  has  had  a  strong  influence  in  making  the  Amer- 
ican Associations  conservatively  evangelical.  Con- 
tact with  the  British  Associations  helped  to  recall  the 
American  Associations  to  their  distinctive  field  of 
work  for  young  men.  The  American  Association 
leaders  did  much  to  encourage  the  European  Asso- 
ciations, particularly  the  smaller  ones  on  the  conti- 
nent. They  also  promoted  an  international  system  of 
correspondence  and  through  the  establishment  of  an 
annual  convention  and  Central  Committee  at  home 
encouraged  similar  efforts  both  in  Great  Britain  and 
on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

The  foreign  relations  of  this  period  may  be  divided 
into:  1,  activities  before  Langdon's  tour  in  1857;  2, 
Langdon's  European  tour  of  that  year;  3,  activities 
following  his  tour,  1857-1860. 

Sec.  46. — Foreign  Relations  Previous  to  1857 

It  was  the  visits  to  London  of  Van  Derlip,  Petrie, 
and  Duncan  which  led  directly  or  indirectly  to  the 


INTERRELATIONS  Wnil  EUROPE  311 

fouiuliii"-  of  the  Associations  at  ])Oston,  New  York, 
and  Washington. 

In  1853  Dr.  Alexander  II.  Vinton,  bearing  creden- 
tials from  the  Boston  Association,  was  the  guest  of 
the  London  Association  at  its  ninth  anniversary.  He 
brought  greetings  from  America  and  reported  the 
founding  of  Associations  on  this  continent.  Other 
accredited  representatives  from  Boston  visited  Lon- 
don that  year  and  Rev.  C.  M.  Butler,  D.  D.,  of  Wash- 
ington, afterwards  of  Cincinnati,  was  also  a  guest. 
(First  Washington  Report,  1854,  p.  20.) 

Doctor  Butler  in  his  report  to  the  W^ashington  As- 
sociation said:  "I  attended  the  Bible  class  which  was 
held  at  the  rooms  of  the  Association  on  Sunday  after- 
noon. .  .  .  This  is  one  of  the  largest  of  six  classes  of 
a  similar  kind  which  arc  held  in  London.  On  enter- 
ing the  room,  I  found  myself  in  the  presence  of  about 
one  hundred  young  men  and  some  of  middle  age  who 
joined  in  prayer  and  singing  under  the  lead  of  one  of 
their  number.  The  class  was  conducted  by  a  layman, 
a  zealous  member  of  the  Association,  who,  upon  the 
portion  of  Scripture  appointed  for  their  study,  asked 
questions,  gave  explanations,  and  guided  all  the  com- 
mentaries of  others  and  of  himself  into  the  most 
practical  experimental  and  spiritual  subjects.  It  was 
the  most  interesting,  animated,  devotional,  and  warm- 
ing religious  service  which  I  attended  in  England. 
Great  good  has  been  effected  by  these  classes,  espe- 
cially in  the  more  business  parts  of  London.  It  may 
be  well  for  our  Associations  to  inquire  whether  the 
same  mode  of  operation  may  properly  be  introduced 
in  Washington.  .  .  .  Immediately  after  the  service  a 
cup  of  tea  and  bread  was  handed  round  and  an  hour 
spent  in  a  manner  altogether  suitable  to  the  day.  I 
observed  some  studying  the  Scripture  appointed  for 
the  following  Sunday  and  some  conversing  with  great 


312  YOUNG  MEX'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

earnestness  with  those  who  were  endeavoring  to  lead 
them  to  the  Saviour  of  the  World." 

Langdon  became  corresponding  secretary  for  the 
Washington  Association  in  1852.  At  the  end  of  his 
year  of  service  he  made  to  the  Washington  Asso- 
ciation the  most  extended  report  of  Associations 
throughout  the  world  which  had  then  been  prepared. 
It  covers  thirty-eight  printed  pages,  eighteen  pages  of 
which  are  given  to  the  Associations  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  continent. 

Pastor  Diirselen  of  Ronsdorf,  the  president  of  the 
earliest  Association  Alliance  in  the  Rhenish  and 
Westphalian  provinces,  gives  an  extended  account  of 
the  workings  of  this  Alliance,  and  writing  to  Lang- 
don in  March,  1854,  he  says:  "We  have  found  that 
the  forming  of  the  unions  into  an  Alliance  .  .  .  has 
contributed  essentially  to  give  strength  and  vitality 
to  the  cause  of  the  unions.  We  would,  therefore,  sug- 
gest that  your  i\ssociations  also  form  themselves  into 
an  American  Alliance.  In  that  event  it  would  give 
us  great  pleasure  if  the  American  Alliance  would 
enter  into  an  intimate  and  fraternal  communion  with 
our  own."  This  suggestion  encouraged  Langdon  to 
promote  the  American  Confederation  which  for 
nearly  two  years  he  had  been  advocating.  In  Lang- 
don's  report  to  the  Washington  Association  is  an  in- 
teresting account  of  a  small  Association  among  theo- 
logical students  at  Montauban,  which  plainly  contains 
the  germ  of  the  "Paris  Basis"  adopted  in  1855  at  the 
First  World's  Convention.  (First  Washington  Re- 
port, 1854,  pp.  33-34.)  This  report  states,  January 
18,  1854:  "It  is  not  without  a  lively  joy  that  we  have 
received  and  read  your  circular  dated  in  the  month 
of  November,  1853.  .  .  .  We  have  neither  library  nor 
reading  room  nor  religious  journals  at  our  disposal. 
.  .  .  Every  week  we  meet  together  to  read  and  medi- 
tate on  the  word  of  God  and  there  is  at  the  close  re- 


ISTERRELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE  313 

ligious  conversation  upon  the  chapter  which  has  been 
read.  .  .  .  Our  Association  is  composed  of  theologi- 
cal students.  .  .  .  Our  Union  was  established  at 
Montauban  in  the  month  of  November,  1852.  .  .  , 
W'e  have  at  this  time  fourteen  members.  .  .  .  We 
give  the  two  principal  rules.  .  .  .  The  improvement 
of  the  members  which  compose  it  and  the  evangeliza- 
tion in  general.  'All  young  men  are  received  as  mem- 
bers of  the  Union  who  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  their 
Saviour  and  their  God,  according  to  the  Scriptures 
and  w^ho  through  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  feel 
themselves  called  to  work  for  the  advancement  of  his 
Kingdom.'  "  It  is  interesting  that  this  little  group 
of  obscure  theological  students  should  have  practi- 
cally formulated  the  doctrinal  phrases  of  the  Paris 
Basis,  often  called  the  Apostles'  Creed  of  the  Asso- 
ciations of  the  World. 

Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  president  of  the  New  York 
Association,  in  his  report  for  1855  says  (Third  Annual 
Report,  New  York,  1855,  pp.  10-11'): 

"Early  last  year  Richard  C.  ■\IcCormick,  Jr.,  was 
appointed  a  delegate  of  the  Associations  to  visit  the 
Associations  of  Europe  to  bear  our  greetings  to  them 
and  to  report  to  us  their  condition  and  prospects.  .  .  . 
He  has  visited  the  Associations  of  London,  Liverpool, 
Birmingham,  Manchester,  Glasgow,  Greenock,  Bel- 
fast, Dublin,  Limerick,  and  Cork,  with  various  others 
in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  also  those  of  Paris, 
Genoa,  and  Turin.  The  most  cordial  welcome  has 
been  extended  to  him  and  many  of  the  Associations 
have  passed  resolutions  thanking  our  Association  for 
appointing  a  delegate  and  complimenting  our  dele- 
gate on  his  interest  in  the  progress  of  the  good  work 
among  young  men.  At  every  point  it  has  been  in- 
sisted that  ]\lr.  McCormick  should  afford  all  the  in- 
formation possible  concerning  the  rise  and  progress 
of   the    Young   Men's    Christian   Association    of   the 


314  YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

United  States  and  the  details  have  been  listened  to 
by  thousands  with  the  utmost  delight. 

"The  young  men  of  Europe  engaged  in  the  all  im- 
portant work  of  guarding  the  spiritual  welfare  of  their 
fellow  beings  are  anxious  to  become  familiar  with  the 
movement  of  their  American  brethren  and  let  us  hope 
that  the  happy  visit  of  our  delegate  may  tend  to 
strengthen  the  ties  of  our  sympathy  and  love  for  our 
Christian  friends  in  the  Old  World."' 

McCormick  made  an  extended  report  of  his  trip 
with  suggestions  to  the  New  York  Association.  He 
urged  lecture  courses,  especially  informal  lectures  to 
groups  of  young  men  at  the  rooms.  He  also  advo- 
cated Bible  classes  on  the  London  model,  more  social 
life,  evening  classes,  and  less  constitutional  machin- 
ery. He  laid  particular  emphasis  on  the  deeper 
spiritual  character  of  the  European  Associations 
and  urged  the  New  York  Association  to  establish 
branches  in  different  parts  of  the  city  after  the  exam- 
ple of  the  London  Association. 

One  of  the  most  far-reaching  influences  upon  the 
American  Associations  from  abroad  came  from  the 
Paris  Convention.  The  two  features  of  this  conven- 
tion which  influenced  America  were  the  plan  of  cor- 
respondence and  the  statement  of  faith  and  object 
known  as  the  Paris  Basis. 

Langdon  prepared  for  this  convention  as  able  a  re- 
port as  he  ever  wrote.  His  study  of  the  then  existing 
Associations  had  made  him  better  acquainted  with 
the  character  and  extent  of  the  organization  than  any 
other  man  in  the  Association  world.  In  his  letters  to 
leaders  both  at  home  and  abroad  he  had  persistently 
urged  the  establishment  of  a  systematic  plan  of  cor- 
respondence. (Note — This  plan  is  described  in  Vol. 
I,  pp.  168-179.)  The  operating  of  this  plan  during 
the  years  of  the  Confederation  period  disseminated 
information  regarding  the  Association,  gradually  in- 


INTERRELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE  315 

spired  a  spirit  of  comradeship,  and  as  time  went  on 
promoted  a  conscious  world  unity  among  the  Asso- 
ciations. This  has  been  greatly  fostered  by  world 
conventions,  intervisitation,  the  Paris  Basis,  and  later 
in  1878  by  the  establishment  of  the  World's  Commit- 
tee at  Geneva,  Switzerland. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was  the 
first  Protestant  international  agency  on  a  large  scale 
in  any  way  comparable  to  the  Catholic  Church,*  The 
churches,  except  the  Roman,  are  for  the  most  part 
either  racial  or  national  in  character.  Their  interna- 
tional activities  are  nearly  all  of  a  missionary  nature. 
The  Association  admits  all  national  committees  of 
all  countries  into  a  league  of  nations  on  an  equal  basis 
and  aims  at  real  self-determination  on  the  part  of 
each  national  committee  and  local  Association. 

The  American  Associations  of  the  Confederation 
period  accepted  the  Paris  Basis.  This  was  done  at 
the  Cincinnati  Convention  in  September,  1855,  one 
month  following  the  assembly  at  Paris.  Neff  of 
Cincinnati  (Cincinnati  Convention  Report,  1855,  p. 
48)  introduced  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
adopted:  "Resolved,  that  this  convention  as  the 
representative  of  the  Confederated  Associations  of 
the  United  States  and  British  Provinces  does  cor- 
dially approve  and  hereby  ratify  the  resolutions  of 
confederation  and  correspondence  submitted  by  the 
conference  of  Christian  Associations  lately  assembled 
at  Paris  and  that  the  Central  Committee  be  author- 
ized to  take  the  requisite  steps  to  carry  the  same  into 
effect."  A  reservation  was  added  that  any  local  As- 
sociation at  any  time  might  withdraw  from  the  World 
Alliance  should  it  so  desire.  This  was  done  to  Sfuard 
in  every  way  the  autonomy  and  independence  of  the 
local  Associations. 

♦Without,  it  should  be  said,  any  sacerdotal  similitude  nor  ecclesi- 
astical assumption. — R.  E.  L. 


316  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

The  report  of  the  Paris  Convention  covering  125 
pages  was  pubhshed  in  English  and  circulated  among 
the  American  Associations.  This  report  contained 
Langdon's  extended  study  of  the  American  Associa- 
tions. It  gave  the  American  leaders  a  clearer  idea  of 
the  European  movement.  It  undoubtedly  strength- 
ened their  conservative  evangelical  attitude  by  pro- 
mulgating the  Paris  Basis  and  revealing  the  doctrinal 
teaching  of  the  European  Associations. 

At  the  Paris  Convention  Shipton  of  London  and 
others  (First  World's  Convention  Report,  Paris, 
1855,  p.  8)  remarked,  "That  it  is  desirable  to  have  as 
little  distinction  of  class  or  creed"  as  practicable.  The 
Utrecht  Student  Association  of  Holland  reported, 
"No  confession  of  faith  is  imposed  on  our  members." 

The  Association  for  Amsterdam,  however,  required 
a  personal  test  which  intnoduced  theological  dissen- 
sion. Active  members  were  expected  to  accept  the 
following  statement  of  faith  (First  World's  Con- 
vention, Paris,  1855,  p.  51):  "We  acknowledge  that 
inasmuch  as  we  are  lost  sinners,  deprived  of  the  glory 
of  God,  we  owe  the  salvation  of  our  souls  only  to  the 
work  of  the  Son  of  God,  through  faith  in  His  blood. 
We  desire  while  renouncing  impiety  and  worldly  pas- 
sions by  the  strength  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  live  so- 
berly, righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world, 
while  expecting  the  blessed  hope  and  the  glorious  ap- 
pearance of  the  Great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ." 

This  society  reports  some  internal  dissension  and 
states:  "A  liberal  tendency  (that  is  to  say,  the  tend- 
ency of  the  latitudinarian  or  heterodox  party) 
struggled  against  the  committee  which  had  proposed 
the  adherence  of  the  active  members  to  the  above 
profession  of  faith."  The  Central  Committee  at  Am- 
sterdam were  authorized  to  pass  on  the  regularity  of 
local  Associations.     This  brought  some  difficulties  at 


INTERRELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE  317 

Haarlem.  Regarding  this  Association  the  report 
states  (p.  52)  :  "When  the  spirit  of  liberalism  ap- 
peared and  caused  trouble  the  Committee  of  the  Alli- 
ance interfered  but  its  counsels  were  despised.  It 
was,  therefore,  obliged  to  exclude  the  Haarlem  Union 
from  the  Alliance,  in  order  to  reconstitute  it  upon  an 
entirely  evangelical  basis." 

This  was  the  method  used  to  enforce  evangelical 
orthodoxy. 

The  French  and  particularly  the  Swiss  delegates 
maintained  a  sharply  defined,  positive  position  on  the 
deity  of  Jesus.  Max  Perrot,  president  of  the  Geneva 
Association,  in  his  address  at  the  Paris  Convention 
said  (First  World's  Convention  Report,  Paris,  1855, 
p.  6) : 

"Working  among  young  men  taught  by  an  Arian 
Catechism  and  brought  up  in  the  midst  of  rational- 
ism, we  are  constrained  frequently  to  controversies 
on  questions  of  doctrine.  We  suffer  in  consequence 
under  the  reproach  of  dogmatic  exclusiveness.  We 
desire,  my  friends,  to  impose  no  articles  of  faith  which 
the  word  of  God  does  not  enjoin,  but  whilst  we  de- 
sire to  unite  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus,  we  cannot 
admit  those  who  deny  his  proper  divinity.  Hence, 
we  are  brought  into  perpetual  collisions  with  pastors 
and  catechumens. 

"Since  Romanism  has  made  some  progress  many 
have  been  impelled  to  a  closer  study  of  Protestant 
doctrines.  This  has  brought  many  young  men 
amongst  us  serious  and  strongly  opposed  to  popery, 
but  unfixed  and  speculative  in  their  views.  They  sav 
they  believe  in  Christ  and  desire  to  unite  with  us  on 
the  ground  of  Christian  life.  But  the  divinity  of 
Christ  with  them  no  longer  means  the  same  thing. 
They  admit  that  Christ  is  a  divine  being  but  not  'God 
manifest  in  the  flesh,'  We  feel  there  is  no  course  open 
to  us  but  to  refuse  a  Christianity  like  this  although 


318  YOUNG  ME.VS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

as  a  consequence  we  are  accused  of  a  severe  dog-matic 
character  and  have  to  see  another  Association  formed 
in  opposition  to  our  own.  My  friends,  there  is  no 
Christianity  which  denies  that  Christ  is  God.  And 
at  Geneva  more  than  anywhere  else  it  is  incumbent 
upon  us  to  maintain  our  basis  intact  and  to  proclaim 
the  eternal  divinity  of  the  Son  of  God,  our  Saviour." 

Pastor  Monod,  also  of  Geneva,  at  a  later  session 
took  the  same  position. 

The  delegates  from  Geneva  also  urged  that  the 
Paris  Basis*  contain  an  "explicit  declaration  of  the 
divine  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures."  The  convention 
decided  "that  the  theological  truth  of  inspiration  .  .  . 
should  not  be  imposed  as  an  absolute  condition  of  ad- 
mission to  the  Association  because  it  is  a  question  the 
solution  of  which  demands  not  so  much  piety  as 
study.  More  must  not  be  required  than  God  Himself 
requires.  Whoever  believes  in  Jesus  Christ  as  his 
God  and  Saviour,  according  to  His  Holy  Scriptures, 
will  be  received  into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and 
whoever  will  be  received  into  Heaven  ought  not  to 
be  refused  admission  into  our  Association. "f  (First 
World's  Convention  Report,  Paris,  1855,  p.  24.) 

The  Geneva  and  French  Associations  stood  for  a 
narrow  conservative  orthodoxy  more  strenuously 
than  any  of  the  other  European  societies  and  pro- 
foundly influenced  the  whole  Association. 

*  The  author's  attention  has  been  called  by  W.  H.  Underwood  of 
the  World's  Committee  staff  to  the  inaccuracy  of  the  translation  of 
the  Paris  Basis  invariably  used  in  American  and  English  versions. 
The  word  "doctrine"  (doctrine)  in  the  original  draft  of  the  Com- 
mittee was  struck  out  by  the  convention  and  for  it  was  substituted 
the  word  "faith"  (foi).  This  is  always  found  in  the  French  reports 
and  certainly  gives  a  more  spiritual  and  less  theological  quality  to 
the  Basis. 

t  How  narrowly  good  men  escape  in  their  solemn  affirmations 
from  making  their  organizations  of  Christians  more  exclusive  by  far 
than  Jesus  made  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  by  what  difference  of 
measure. — R.  E.  L. 


lNTER!iELATlO\'S  WITH  EUROPE  319 

The  German  Associations,  which  were  more  nu- 
merous than  any  others  on  the  continent,  maintained 
the  Christian  character  of  their  Associations  by  ap- 
pointing as  officers  men  of  recognized  rehgious  ear- 
nestness. They  admitted  all  young  men  as  members 
who  were  interested  in  the  objects  of  the  Associa- 
tions. In  practice  this  resulted  in  only  young  men 
who  were  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church  uniting 
with  the  Association. 

The  American  Associations  were  delivered  from 
much  theological  difficulty  by  the  plan  of  a  Church 
test  rather  than  a  personal  test  for  active  member- 
ship. This  plan  leaves  all  doctrinal  questions  to  be 
determined  by  the  Church.  However,  by  excluding 
Unitarians  and  Universalists  they  fostered  a  narrow 
spirit  which  still  hampers  the  movement  and  which 
introduced  theological  bitterness — the  very  thing 
which  the  church  test  was  expected  to  eliminate  and 
wdiich  a  personal  test  is  calculated  to  promote. 

The  Paris  Basis  w^as  approved  by  the  American 
Convention  as  a  general  statement  of  evangelical  be- 
lief and  as  a  satisfactory  statement  of  the  aim  of  the 
Associations  to  unite  Christian  young  men  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  Christ's  Kingdom  among  their  fellow 
young  men.  This  basis  has,  however,  never  been 
adopted  in  North  America  as  a  part  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  local  Associations  nor  has  personal  assent  to 
it  been  required  of  individual  members  as  in  Europe. 

The  defining  of  the  field  of  the  Association  as  work 
for  young  men  had  a  steadying  influence  upon  the 
American  movement,  but  this  action  of  the  conven- 
tion was  forgotten  when  the  evangelistic  revival  a 
few  years  later  absorbed  the  energies  of  the  Ameri- 
can Associations  and  led  them  to  undertake,  in  the 
language  of  Langdon,  "the  general  propagation  of 
the  Gospel." 

The   Cincinnati   Convention  had  its  attention  fur- 


320  YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

ther  directed  to  Associations  abroad  by  the  presence 
of  Rev.  A\'m.  Arthur,  D.  D.,  one  of  the  vice-presidents 
of  the  London  Association,  who  addressed  the  con- 
vention on  the  work  in  Great  Britain.  Doctor  Ar- 
thur had  been  one  of  the  earnest  supporters  of  the 
London  Association.  He  attended  the  first  pubHc 
meeting  of  that  Association  in  November,  1844.  At 
that  meeting  he  supported  the  first  resolution  endors- 
ing the  Association.  Doctor  Arthur  became  a  vice- 
president  of  the  London  society  in  1845  and  con- 
tinued a  number  of  years  in  that  relation.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  lecturers  in  the  well-known  Exeter 
Hall  Lecture  Course. 

The  Quarterly  Reporter,  established  by  the  Second 
Central  Committee  of  Cincinnati,  published  copious 
reports  of  the  Associations  in  Europe.  These  articles 
took  the  form  of  accounts  of  local  work,  the  reviews 
of  anniversary  addresses,  and  full  reports  of  conven- 
tions. 

The  most  extended  influence  exerted  by  any  indi- 
vidual from  abroad  was  by  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Gladstone, 
honorary  secretary  of  the  Borough  Branch,  London. 
Doctor  Gladstone  was  one  of  the  British  delegates  to 
the  Paris  Convention,  where  he  served  as  an  inter- 
preter. He  also  reported  the  work  of  the  British  As- 
sociations. In  1856  Doctor  Gladstone  visited  North 
America  and  was  present  at  the  third  American  Con- 
vention held  in  Montreal.  Here  he  met  Langdon  and 
Neff,  prior  to  their  visit  to  the  Associations  of 
Europe. 

Doctor  Gladstone  on  his  return  addressed  the  Lon- 
don Association  at  its  twelfth  anniversary  exercises 
February,  1857,  at  Exeter  Hall.  In  his  address  he 
said  (Young  Mens  Magazine,  May,  1857,  p.  25): 
"Wherever  he  met  with  Associations  of  Christian 
young  men  he  presented  those  messages  of  Christian 
affection  with  which  he  had  been  entrusted.  .  .  .  He 


INTERRELATIOXS  WITH  EUROPE  321 

found  Associations  existing  in  every  principal  town 
and  city  in  the  Union  and  in  Canada.  They  had  been 
very  rapidly  increasing  and  might  now  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  social  and  religious  institutions  of  the 
country.  In  their  internal  operations  they  followed 
very  much  the  system  of  the  English  Associations  but 
they  were  characterized  by  a  peculiar  practicalness 
of  endeavor  somewhat  accordant  with  the  character 
of  the  people.  They  had  developed  more  of  the  secu- 
lar element  than  in  England.  Every  active  young 
man  found  himself  on  one  of  the  numerous  commit- 
tees and  bound  to  do  the  work  allotted  to  him." 

George  Petrie,  the  founder  of  the  New  York  Asso- 
ciation, while  unable  to  attend  the  Montreal  Conven- 
tion, brought  to  the  Central  Committee  from  London 
100  copies  of  the  journal  of  the  Paris  Convention. 
The  Montreal  Convention  approved  the  plan  for  a 
certificate  in  English  and  French  to  be  issued  to  mem- 
bers traveling  abroad.  The  convention  also  voted  to 
appoint  a  delegation  to  visit  Associations  abroad  and 
carry  to  them  the  greetings  of  the  American  Asso- 
ciations. Langdon  of  Washington  and  Capt.  W.  H. 
Noble,  R.  E.,  of  Kingston,  Ontario,  were  appointed 
on  this  delegation.  Captain  Noble's  assignment  to 
duty  in  England  only  permitted  his  visiting  the  Lon- 
don Association. 


Sec.  47. — Langdon's  European  Tour,  1857 

Langdon  had  for  some  time  been  contemplating  a 
trip  abroad  and  therefore  accepted  the  appointment 
of  the  convention. 

The  year  1856,  when  he  was  twenty-five  years  old, 
was  the  turning  point  in  Langdon's  career.  Four 
months  before  the  Montreal  Convention,  on  May  25, 
he  had  decided  to  give  up  his  promising  business  op- 
portunities and  devote  himself  to  the  ministry  in  the 


322  YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

Episcopal  Church.  In  his  personal  reminiscences  he 
says  ("The  Story  of  My  Early  Life,"  p.  115):  "I 
arrived  at  this  decision  distinctly  on  these  grounds — 
that  experience  had  already  shown  me  clearly  that 
God  had  graciously  endowed  me  with  some  excep- 
tional powers  and  ability  and  with  large  capacities  of 
usefulness;  that  the  noblest  sphere  for  the  employ- 
ment of  such  powers  was  in  His  direct  service;  that 
such  powers  were  needed  in  the  Church  and  that, 
therefore,  I  dared  not  reserve  for  my  self-service  any 
such  powers  and  capacities  of  His  gift.  The  question 
was  not  raised  whether  the  Church  wanted  as  well 
as  needed  these  capacities  or  whether  the  Church 
would  afford  me  the  opportunity  of  rendering  these 
services  for  which  I  was  willing  to  give  up  those  of 
which  the  world  had  already  put  me  in  possession. 
This  was  taken  for  granted." 

In  a  letter  to  the  Central  Committee  {Quarterly  Re- 
porter, 1857)  Langdon  gave  notice  of  his  departure. 
He  wrote:  "At  last  God,  in  His  good  providence,  per- 
mits me  to  fulfill  the  trust  committed  to  me,  in  part, 
by  my  brethren  of  the  Montreal  Convention,  of  visit- 
ing in  the  name  of  our  Confederated  Associations  the 
Christian  Unions  of  Europe  and  I  will  sail  from  New 
York  for  that  purpose  on  the  3rd  prox.  I  have  al- 
ways and  devotedly  believed  that  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  our  institution  our  Almighty  King  is  not 
only  arousing  the  lay  energies  of  the  churches  and 
bearing  the  controlling  influences  of  religious  princi- 
ple into  the  mart,  the  mine,  and  the  manufactory  but 
that  He  is  also  heralding  in  the  day  for  which  our 
Saviour  prayed — the  day  of  Christian  unity — close 
upon  whose  advent  is  promised  the  recognition  by 
the  world  of  our  Redeemer's  mission.  On  the  fur- 
therance and  on  the  strengthening  of  our  influence 
such  intercourse  as  is  opened  by  the  visits  of  our  dear 
brother  Gladstone  and  others  to  our  midst  and  those 


INTERRELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE  323 

of  our  own  nicnibers  abroad  cannot  be  without  great 
effect."  ("Early  Story  of  the  Confederation,"  Year 
Book,  1888,  pp.  50-53.) 

During  the  six  months  of  his  stay  in  Europe  Lang- 
don  was  indefatigable  in  his  visitation  of  the  Asso- 
ciations. Upon  his  arrival  in  London  he  was  wel- 
comed at  a  meeting  of  the  Association  committee. 
He  attended  the  Sunday  afternoon  Bible  class  and  a 
devotional  meeting.  The  London  Central  Associa- 
tion w^as  already  established  in  its  newly  equipped 
building  in  Aldersgate  Street. 

In  France  Langdon  attended  a  meeting  of  the  na- 
tional committee  and  became  well  acquainted  with 
members  of  the  Associations  at  Paris  and  Nimes. 
He  also  visited  the  Association  at  Marseilles.  Then 
he  went  to  Germany.  Here  the  Associations  were 
grouped  under  provincial  central  committees  but 
there  was  as  yet  no  national  organization.  Langdon 
spent  an  evening  at  Berlin  w^ith  Pastor  Hofmeyer,  the 
president  of  that  Association,  and  attended  a  large 
gathering  of  the  members.  At  Berlin  the  American 
minister  invited  a  group  of  gentlemen  to  meet  Lang- 
don at  dinner.  Among  them  was  Peter  Bayne,  editor 
of  the  Edinburgh  Witness,  who  was  an  eminent  liter- 
ary man.  Langdon  recounts  that  he  was  seated  near 
Bayne  at  table.  They  conversed  on  the  outlook  for 
Christian  work  and  Langdon  after  dinner  went  to 
Bayne's  apartments,  where  the  conversation  was  con- 
tinued until  late  into  the  night.  Bayne  was  seeking 
material  for  an  article  regarding  the  American  Con- 
federation, which  later  appeared  in  the  Witness.  This 
article  was  copied  by  both  the  American  and  the  Brit- 
ish national  organs.  (Quarterly  Reporter,  July,  1858, 
p.  77.)  Bayne  spoke  of  the  Associations  as  establish- 
ing "a  Christian  free  masonry  over  Great  Britain, 
America,  and  the  Continent."  He  particularly  advo- 
cated the  American  plan  of  an  alliance  and  an  execu- 


324  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

tive  committee  and  suggested  that  it  might  be  ex- 
tended to  Europe. 

This  article,  reinforced  by  Langdon's  addresses  and 
conferences,  led  the  British  Associations  to  call  their 
first  convention  at  Leeds  in  1858. 

Langdon  also  visited  the  Associations  at  Leipzig, 
Frankfort,  and  Heidelberg.  He  then  went  to  Rons- 
dorf  to  visit  Pastor  Diirselen,  the  chief  advocate  of 
the  Association  cause  in  Germany.  Pastor  Diirselen 
led  in  establishing  the  first  provincial  committee  ever 
organized.  This  w^as  the  Westphalishe  Bund  at  El- 
berfeld  in  1848,  which  embraced  130  Associations 
with  6,000  members.  He  became  president  of  this 
union  and  continued  in  its  service  for  twenty-five 
years.  He  also  edited  for  many  years  the  Young 
Men's  Messenger,  the  first  Association  magazine. 

It  was  meeting  men  who  were  rendering  continu- 
ous service  like  this  which  led  Langdon  to  oppose  the 
practice  in  America  of  frequent  rotation  in  ofifice. 

At  Amsterdam  Langdon  says:  'T  attended  meet- 
ings both  of  the  main  society  and  of  a  branch  among 
working  men,  in  company  with  Messrs.  Bruyn  and 
Heyblom.  In  Geneva  I  was  most  warmly  received. 
An  excursion  was  made  for  me  to  Mt.  Saleve  where 
I  addressed  a  meeting  of  some  forty  members,  going 
on  from  thence  to  Lausanne,  to  do  the  same  with 
Messrs.  Dunant,  Cuenod,  and  Renevier." 

In  May  Langdon  returned  to  Great  Britain  in  time 
to  attend  the  thirteenth  annual  breakfast  of  the  Lon- 
don society.  It  was  with  evident  emotion  that  Lang- 
don addressed  this  gathering  of  the  parent  Associa- 
tion and  his  remarks  were  received  with  frequent 
applause.  He  brought  official  greetings  from  the 
American  Confederation  and  gratefully  acknowl- 
edged the  debt  of  the  American  Associations  to  the 
parent  society.  He  also  advocated  the  federation  of 
British  Associations  into  a  national  union. 


INTERKELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE  325 

Langdon  again  uttered  the  deepest  desire  of  his 
heart  for  Christian  unity — the  work  to  which  he  was 
to  devote  in  the  face  of  the  most  baffling  obstacles 
the  remainder  of  his  Hfe.  He  said  {Young  Men's 
Magazine,  July,  1857,  p.  132),  "I  come  representing 
a  principle  which  is  strong  among  us,  the  principle  of 
united  love  and  united  labor,  the  spirit  which  seeks 
to  bring  together  in  intercourse  and  in  feeling  the 
Christian  community  which  is  arising  throughout 
Christendom  to  bind  us  together  with  links  more 
strong  than  iron,  that  the  day  may  yet  come,  by  this 
feeble  instrumentality,  the  day  which  our  Saviour's 
prophetic  prayer  has  taught  us  to  expect  when  all  the 
world  shall  be  one  and  the  Church  shall  be  one.  and 
the  world  shall  know  that  God  hath  sent  Him." 

Shipton  now  arranged  for  Langdon  a  tour  of  the 
British  Associations.  This  Langdon  describes  as  fol- 
lows ("Early  Story  of  the  Confederation,"  Year 
Book,  1888,  p.  51)  :  "Beginning  with  Oxford,  I  visited 
Warwick  and  Leamington  on  my  way  north.  I  ad- 
dressed a  meeting  of  the  Association  and  attended  a 
breakfast  with  which  I  was  honored  in  Edinburgh. 
From  thence  I  went  to  Glasgow  and  Belfast.  From 
this  point,  I  attended  and  addressed  a  meeting  of  the 
society  called  to  welcome  me  on  every  evening  until 
I  sailed — in  Belfast,  in  Dublin,  in  Chester,  in  Man- 
chester, and  in  Liverpool.  At  every  one  of  these — 
but  perhaps  especially  in  Edinburgh,  in  Chester,  and 
in  Liverpool — was  the  greatest  interest  shown  in  the 
story  and  in  the  details  of  the  working  of  our  general 
organization  and  the  purpose  expressed  to  aim  at 
some  similar  plan  for  their  own  Associations." 

At  every  point  visited  Langdon  urged  the  carrying 
on  of  the  plan  of  correspondence  adopted  by  the  Paris 
Convention. 

Return  to  America  naturally  placed  Langdon  some- 
what in  the  relationship  of  a  critic  toward  the  Ameri- 


326  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

can  Associations.  He  was  without  exception  better 
acquainted  with  their  general  affairs  than  any  other 
man  in  the  Association  world.  Entering  the  ministry 
would  have  added  to  his  prestige  as  an  Association 
leader  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  Pastor  Paul  Cook 
was  the  founder  and  leading  spirit  in  the  Association 
work  in  France.  Pastor  Diirselen,  president  of  the 
Westphalian  Union,  was  the  main  supporter  of  the 
work  throughout  Germany,  and  Pastor  Cuenod  held 
a  similar  relationship  to  the  Associations  of  Switzer- 
land. But  in  England  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  George 
Hitchcock,  George  Williams,  Samuel  Morley,  and 
R.  C.  L.  Bevan  were  all  laymen,  chiefly  in  mercan- 
tile pursuits.  The  secretaries,  T.  H.  Tarlton  and 
W.  E.  Shipton,  were  laymen.  This  was  equally  true 
in  America.  The  ministers  supported  and  cooperated 
with  the  Association,  but  its  leadership  was  in  the 
hands  of  laymen.  Entering  the  ministry  would 
doubtless  have  diverted  Langdon  from  official  lead- 
ership in  the  American  Association  movement  had 
he  remained  in  this  country,  but  his  views,  so  diverse 
from  those  held  by  the  new  leaders  of  the  Association 
cause,  made  his  retirement  almost  inevitable.  The 
great  revival  immediately  following  Langdon's  re- 
turn from  Europe  plunged  the  Association  into  new 
activities  and  brought  in  as  with  a  flood  a  multitude 
of  new  Associations  and  new  officers  who  were  un- 
acquainted with  the  policies  and  principles  of  the 
organization  which  Langdon  and  Rhees,  Neff  and 
Lowry,  and  others  had  reared  with  so  much  pains 
and  careful  effort.* 

*  The  lack  of  lay  leadership  on  the  Continent  no  doubt  accounts 
for  the  peculiarly  ministerial  and  ofttimes  doctrinal  aspects  of  the 
continental  Associations;  for  their  lack  of  adequate  means;  and  for 
their  unimportant  contribution  to  the  extension  of  the  movement  in 
less-favored  lands,  as  well  as  their  slight  influence  only  on  the 
development  of  the  ideals  of  the  American  Associations.  Europe 
has  influenced  America  in  many  ways,  but  not  appreciably  in  this. 


INTERRELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE  327 

Langdon's  growing  interest  in  the  Church  had  led 
him  to  meditate  on  the  true  sphere  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  and  its  right  relation  to 
the  Church.  lie  saw  clearly  that  it  could  only  sur- 
vive as  a  direct  agency  of  the  Church,  subordinate  to 
it  in  its  policies.  He  recognized  also  that  it  must 
have,  as  he  found  it  had  in  Europe,  a  clearly  defined 
field  of  its  own  which  did  not  usurp  any  functions  of 
the  Church  or  seriously  duplicate  other  agencies.  He 
determined,  with  all  his  love  for  the  organization, 
with  all  his  intellect  and  energy,  to  oppose  these  tend- 
encies. 

It  was  in  his  report  regarding  the  London  Asso- 
ciation that  Langdon  pointed  out  the  need  of  a  clearly 
defined  field  and  also  used  the  expression  which 
aroused  so  much  opposition  "That  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  is  not  an  institution  for  the  gen- 
eral promulgation  of  the  Gospel  but  an  institution  to 
fit  young  men  to  be  'in  the  sphere  of  their  daily  call- 
ing' efificient  supporters  and  members  of  the  institu- 
tion which  was  divinely  appointed  for  that  work."* 

It  was  inevitable  that  a  break  would  come  between 
Langdon  and  the  evangelistic  laymen  now  in  charge 

With  increasing  numbers  and  rising  power,  the  American  Associa- 
tions, as  contrasted  with  the  continental  European,  have  been  a 
favored  philanthropy  of  manufacturers,  merchants,  and  professional 
and  mercantile  rich  not  of  any  occupation  but  of  many.  The  Asso- 
ciation has  been  a  sort  of  inter-class  objective  for  the  philanthropy 
of  the  privileged  leaders,  and  its  rank  and  file  has  bee  i  made  up  of 
young  fellows  of  almost  every  class,  with  the  exception  of  industrial 
workers.  The  participation  of  manual  workers  in  a  continental 
organization  such  as  this,  is  one  of  the  problems  of  the  future  and 
depends  upon  what  attitude  the  Association  takes  upon  questions  of 
social  righteousness. — R.  E.  L. 

*  With,  of  course,  the  exception  of  Sir  George  Williams,  the  Brit- 
ish Associations  probably  will  make  no  more  lasting  contribution 
to  the  American  Association  polity  than  they  made  through  our  own 
Langdon  who.  although  at  first  defeated  in  our  conventions,  later 
saw  the  British  position  accepted  and  his  prophetic  leadership 
honored. — R.  E.  L. 


328  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

of  the  destinies  of  the  American  Associations.  In  his 
first  letter  to  the  Quarterly  Reporter  after  his  return 
from  Europe  (Quarterly  Reporter,  July,  1857,  pp.  52- 
53)  I.angdon  shows  a  deeper  conviction  than  ever  of 
the  importance  of  the  Confederation.  He  says,  "I 
have  been  confirmed  in  my  belief  that  the  strength, 
spirituality,  and  usefulness  of  our  Association  is,  cet- 
eris paribus,  in  proportion  to  their  intercourse  and 
sympathy  with  each  other." 

He  then  pointed  out  some  of  the  weaknesses  of 
the  American  movement,  saying,  "Excessive  freedom 
in  the  admission  of  members  (making  our  societies 
conspicuous  for  lack  of  spirituality  far  beyond  any  of 
those  of  the  Old  World),  the  imcertain  and  short 
tenure  of  office  among  our  office  bearers,  and  the  in- 
definiteness  of  aims  and  object  so  prevalent  among 
us  are  three  great  practical  evils  which  lie  heavily 
upon  the  American  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion and  which  deserve  both  our  prayerful  considera- 
tion and  remedial  action." 

Langdon  dwelt  further  upon  these  limitations  in 
his  later  report  and  particularly  upon  the  lesser  spirit- 
ual quality  of  the  American  Associations.  He  says, 
"Let  us  confess  it  with  shame,  there  is  less  spirituality 
and  more  of  a  worldly  speculative  business — nay,  I 
may  add  vainglorious — spirit  about  the  American 
than  any  similar  unions  in  the  world."  He  attributed 
this  to  our  carelessness  in  admitting  to  control  men 
lacking  in  spiritual  character.  He  said,  "I  pray  for 
the  day  .  .  .  when  we  shall  with  the  care  which 
characterizes  our  French  brethren,  welcome  within 
the  active  membership,  and  invest  with  the  control 
of  our  Association,  only  those  very  few  whose  spirit- 
ual character  will  add  new  light  to  the  beacon  which 
we  are  trying  to  set  up." 

Langdon  approved  of  the  social  service  and  wel- 
fare work  of  the  Association,  but  he  never  studied  its 


INTERRELATIONS  IV  IT  1 1  EUROPE  329 

relation  to  religious  life,  and  while  he  welcomed  the 
spiritual  interest  created  by  the  revival  he  was 
alarmed  at  its  diverting  the  Associations  from  their 
true  field  of  effort  and  leading  many  to  regard  them 
as  a  substitute  for  the  Church. 

Some  serious  weaknesses  which  he  condemned 
were  the  hasty  method  of  organization,  the  frequent 
rotation  of  officers,  and  the  migratory  plan  which 
shifted  the  Central  Committee  from  place  to  place. 
This  latter  was  inaugurated  by  Langdon  himself,  but 
it  proved  a  serious  handicap  on  the  work  of  super- 
vision all  through  the  days  of  the  Confederation.  It 
may  be  said  that  it  was  not  until  the  International 
Committee  became  permanently  established  in  New 
York  City  in  1866  that  the  American  Associations 
were  on  a  stable  basis. 

Langdon  concluded  his  report  of  the  foreign  Asso- 
ciations in  a  memorable  statement  published  in  the 
Young  Men  s  Christian  Journal,  February,  1859.  In 
this  he  points  out  that  the  different  characteristics  of 
the  British  and  French  societies  are  due  to  the  en- 
vironments surrounding  them  and  the  type  of  people 
of  which  they  are  composed.  Certainly  we  expect  a 
different  result  in  a  Roman  Catholic  community  un- 
friendly to  the  Associations  from  that  in  a  Protestant 
community  where  the  Association  is  an  expression 
of  the  dominant  life  and  spirit  of  the  Church. 

Sec.  48. — Foreign  Relations,  1858  to  1861 

The  foreign  policy  of  the  American  Associations 
during  the  years  following  Langdon's  tour  was  a  con- 
tinuation and  development  of  that  already  begun.  It 
consisted  of  exchanging  information  through  printed 
matter  and  correspondence,  of  intervisitation  and  the 
issuing  of  travelers'  certificates. 

This  policy  was  steadily  building  up  a  world  con- 


330  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

sciousness  in  the  Association  movement.  It  appealed 
powerfully  to  the  romantic  imagination  of  Christian 
young  men.  Later  the  spiritual  conquest  of  the 
world  took  on  the  nature  of  a  quest  worthy  of  the 
soul's  devotion  of  the  noblest  modern  Christian 
knight.  It  was  natural  that  the  American  Associa- 
tions should  turn  with  more  interest  to  Europe  than 
the  European  Associations  did  to  America.  Tradi- 
tion, ancestral  customs,  and  the  springs  of  culture 
were  all  in  the  Old  World.  There  is  a  latent  affec- 
tion among  Americans  for  the  land  of  their  origin 
which  few  leaders  outside  of  Christian  circles  have 
ever  known  how  to  arouse.  Politics  and  business 
often  stifle  this  sentiment  in  competition  and  rivalry. 
The  religious  spirit  manifested  in  conventions  and 
international  organizations  is  the  greatest  power  in 
overcoming  racial  and  national  barriers  and  prepar- 
ing men  for  the  federation  of  the  world. 

No  European  delegate  was  present  at  any  of  the 
later  conventions  of  the  Confederation.  Both  Neff 
and  Lowry  of  Cincinnati  made  visits  to  Europe.  Neff 
attended  the  convention  of  the  Holland  Associations 
in  1859.  Ex-President  Pierce,  who  was  then  in 
Geneva,  attended  and  took  part  in  the  opening  ses- 
sion of  the  Second  World's  Convention  in  August, 
1858. 

The  regularly  appointed  American  delegates  failed 
to  arrive  at  the  Geneva  Convention,  but  two  Ameri- 
can members  present,  one  from  New  York  and  one 
from  Chicago,  were  invited  to  act  in  their  stead. 

The  interest  regarding  America  centered  in  the 
great  revival. 

Halbert  of  the  Central  Committee,  then  located  at 
Buffalo,  had  prepared  an  extended  careful  report  of 
this  religious  awakening.  This  was  read  to  the  con- 
vention and  further  amplified  by  Rev.   Mr.   Russell, 


INTERRELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE  331 

who  had  Irikeii  an  active  jiart  in  the  revival  in  New 
York  City. 

The  American  Associations  came  to  be  represented 
at  the  World's  Convention  by  W.  E.  Shipton  of  Lon- 
don. This  was  not  satisfactory  to  American  leaders, 
many  of  whom  felt  that  Shipton  never  understood  or 
fully  appreciated  the  American  work,  particularly  in 
its  later  expansion  on  the  recreative  side. 

The  greatest  influence  upon  the  American  Asso- 
ciations from  the  Geneva  Convention  came  from  the 
paper  on  "Recreation"  prepared  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Glad- 
stone, F.  R.  S.,  of  London,  a  brother  of  Thomas  H. 
Gladstone,  w^ho  had  not  long  before  made  a  tour  both 
of  the  Associations  of  North  America  and  those  on 
the  continent  of  Europe. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone  also  presented  this  topic  at  the 
first  convention  of  British  Associations,  which  was 
held  the  following  year  at  Leeds.  Neither  he  nor  the 
other  Association  leaders  realized  what  an  innova- 
tion this  topic  w^as,  what  a  long  controversy  it  was  to 
inaugurate,  and  how  it  was  to  divide  Association 
leaders,  nor  did  they  conceive  of  the  changes  it  was 
to  bring  about  in  the  religious  thinking  and  methods 
of  the  work  of  the  Church  at  large,  especially  in 
America. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Church  was  passing  from 
a  position  of  authority  and  prestige  to  one  of  standing 
on  its  own  merits.  The  scientific  age  in  thought  and 
the  democratic  type  of  life  were  undermining  au- 
thority in  religion  as  well  as  in  all  other  relationships. 
The  time  was  approaching  when  men  would  attend 
church  services  and  support  religious  work  not  from 
any  external  constraint  but  because  of  conviction. 
The  Church  could  no  longer  compel  support.  It  be- 
came necessary  to  attract  and  convince.  Religion 
must  demonstrate  that  it  produced  character  and  the 
spirit  of  brotherhood  and  thus  furthers  the  progress 


332  YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

of  mankind.  There  was,  however,  at  this  time  no 
thought  of  the  modern  doctrine  of  play  as  a  means  of 
developing  personality,  and  recreation  as  the  means 
of  strengthening  the  fatigued  body  and  mind  in  the 
presence  of  temptation.  These  agencies  were  dis- 
cussed as  a  means  of  bringing  young  men  under 
Christian  influences  and  thus  as  indirect  means  of 
accomplishing  the  conversion  of  young  men.  It  was 
only  by  the  plan  of  trial  and  error  in  the  face  of  op- 
position from  those  who  claimed  that  the  Associa- 
tion was  being  "secularized"  that  recreation  found  a 
place  among  the  agencies  of  the  Association.  The 
paper  by  Doctor  Gladstone  received  general  assent 
at  the  time  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Doctor 
Gladstone  argued  that  recreation  was  "a  necessity  to 
healthy  mental  and  physical  development."  "That  it 
is  obvious  that  to  a  society  having  a  spiritual  end  in 
view,  such  a  feature  could  only  be  proper  as  an  aux- 
iliary." "That  the  Association  should  supply  healthy 
and  moral  recreation  only  when  the  community  or 
neighborhood  does  not  otherwise  supply  those 
means."  He  concludes,  "In  favor  of  the  entry  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  upon  this  sphere 
of  usefulness  .  .  .  only  where  there  is,  from  the  want 
of  suitable  provision  elsewhere,  a  real  need  .  .  .  only 
so  far  as  it  shall  in  no  wise  interfere  with  the  prime 
work  of  the  Association  .  .  ,  and  only  so  far  as  it 
can  be  guarded  and  hallowed  b}^  a  Christian  spirit." 
{Young  Men's  Christian  Journal,  1859,  p.  135.) 

Doctor  Gladstone  urged  that  "repression"  and 
"suppression"  alone  never  bring  good  results  and  "an 
ignorant  Christian  of  a  narrow,  limited  spirit  is  often 
an  obstacle  to  the  Gospel.  .  .  .  Piety  seeks  every- 
thing that  can  advance  the  real  benefit  of  man." 
(Second  World's  Convention  Report,  Geneva,  1858, 
pp.  69-90.) 

The   World's   Convention   at   Geneva    (1858),   the 


INTERRELATIONS  WITH  EUROPE  Hi 

Lritish  Convention  at  Leeds  (1859),  and  the  North 
American  Convention  at  New^  Orleans  (1860)  had 
apparently  set  their  stamp  of  approval  on  the  intro- 
duction of  amusements  and  "innocent  forms  of  rec- 
reation," but  the  puritan  tradition  was  not  so  easily 
baffled  and  very  soon  prejudice  and  narrowness  both 
in  the  Association  and  outside  produced  a  reaction 
from  which  the  British  Associations  did  not  fully 
rally  until  the  recent  "hut"  work  for  soldiers  in  the 
World  War  and  from  which  the  American  Associa- 
tions emerged  only  after  long  and  often  bitter  con- 
troversy. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATIONS,  1855  TO  1861 

While  the  American  Associations  were  laying 
foundations  which  were  destined  to  give  them  the 
primacy  of  the  Association  movement,  the  leading  in- 
fluence and  the  most  stimulating  ideas  continued  to 
come  during  this  period  from  the  parent  Association 
at  London.  This  Association  from  its  pioneer  char- 
acter, its  clearness  of  aim,  its  steady  success,  its  pa- 
rental interest  in  Associations  everywhere,  and  its 
location  at  the  financial  center  of  the  urban  world 
had  an  influence  which  was  measureless.  It  held  the 
affections  of  feaders  throughout  the  Associations. 
Delegates  and  visitors  came  to  Aldersgate  Street  as 
to  a  shrine  for  inspiration  and  guidance. 

George  Williams,  Tarlton,  and  Shipton  returned 
this  affection  and  interest  without  stint.  The  anni- 
versaries and  May  breakfasts  at  Exeter  Hall,  presided 
over  by  the  seventh  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  were  stimu- 
lating occasions  which  unified  in  an  intimate  way  the 
whole  movement  much  after  the  manner  of  the  later 
world  conventions.  At  these  anniversaries  repre- 
sentatives were  often  present  from  a  considerable 
number  of  both  provincial  and  continental  Associa- 
tions. To  these  gatherings  came  Doctor  Butler  of 
Washington,  Richard  C.  McCormick  of  New  York, 
William  Chauncy  Langdon,  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  and 
many  other  Americans.  From  these  gatherings  they 
carried  the  spirit  of  the  parent  Association  to  all  parts 
of  the  world.     The  affection  and  sympathy  for  the 


THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATIONS.  1855  TO  1861  335 

parent  Association  was  a  cement  that  bound  the  or- 
ganizations together. 

The  annual  report  of  the  London  Association  be- 
came an  international  document.  In  it  was  the  report 
of  the  Central  Association  at  Aldersgate  Street.  This 
was  followed  by  reports  in  smaller  type  of  the  nine  or 
ten  metropolitan  branches  affiliated  with  it.  Then 
followed  reports  of  the  provincial  branches  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  As  these  increased  in  numbers 
they  were  reported  in  tabular  form.  Then  came  the 
colonial  Association  reports  from  Australia,  Canada, 
Jamaica,  and  the  other  parts  of  the  empire.  Follow- 
ing these  were  reports  of  the  foreign  Associations, 
both  European  and  American. 

The  parental  type  of  polity,  if  it  may  be  called  such, 
as  long  as  the  movement  was  small  enough  to  permit 
was  a  bond  of  great  value.  By  this  plan  metropolitan 
branches  became  af^liated  with  the  parent  Associa- 
tion by  filing  with  it  copies  of  their  constitution. 
These  documents  must  show  that  the  object  was  the 
spiritual  and  mental  improvement  of  young  men,  that 
the  management  was  in  the  hands  of  Christian  men, 
and  that  the  voting  membership  was  limited  to  con- 
verted young  men.  Provincial  branches  were  organ- 
ized on  the  same  plan. 

By  this  method  the  committee  of  management 
of  the  parent  central  Association  became  practically 
not  only  the  metropolitan  board  for  London,  but  the 
national  committee  for  England  as  well.  This  com- 
mittee also  entertained  the  Third  World's  Conference 
of  all  lands  and  came  to  sustain  an  important  relation- 
ship to  world  afifairs.  As  the  movement  grew  this 
became  an  impracticable  form  of  organization  and  it 
is  not  surprising  that  attempts  were  made  toward  a 
national  council  established  on  a  democratic  basis. 

The  managing  committee  of  the  parent  Association 
acted  as  a  sort  of  mentor  to  the  British  Associations 


336  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

and  to  it  were  referred  difficult  questions  for  advice 
or  settlement.  Later  the  Quarterly  Messenger  was 
published  by  the  parent  society  for  the  Associations 
of  the  British  Isles. 

The  bearing  of  these  large  voluntary  responsibili- 
ties was  made  possible  by  the  secretaries  and  a  strong 
group  of  laymen  who  identified  themselves  with  the 
London  Association.  Besides  George  Williams  and 
the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  there  were  George  Hitch- 
cock, W.  D.  Owen,  R.  C.  L.  Bevan,  John  and  Samuel 
Morley,  and  a  number  of  other  leading  merchants  of 
the  metropolis.  These  men  gave  a  world-wide  dis- 
tinction to  the  London  Association  and  were  the  chief 
means  of  securing  adequate  funds  for  its  advance- 
ment. 

Sec.  49. — George  Hitchcock 

During  this  period  George  Hitchcock,  in  Avhose 
drapery  establishment  the  Association  was  founded, 
was  the  treasurer  of  the  parent  Association.  Hitch- 
cock, like  Williams,  was  a  native  of  Devonshire 
and  had  also  been  years  before  apprenticed  in  the 
same  establishment  on  St.  Paul's  Churchyard.  He 
rose  to  be  the  head  of  the  business,  as  W^illiams  in 
turn  rose  to  be  his  successor.  Hitchcock,  while  a  re- 
ligious man,  was  led  to  become  an  active  Christian 
worker  by  the  employes  of  his  own  establishment. 
His  endorsement  and  support  of  the  infant  Associa- 
tion was  one  of  the  chief  factors  in  its  success.  He 
described  the  efforts  of  his  employes  to  W.  D.  Owen, 
a  prominent  silk  merchant,  and  it  was  this  that  led 
to  the  spread  of  the  work  to  various  houses  of  busi- 
ness. He  paid  the  rent  for  the  first  headquarters  of 
the  Association  at  Sergeants  Inn,  made  the  first  and 
largest  contribution  to  the  salary  of  the  first  secre- 
tary, and  was  for  years  the  chief  contributor  toward 
current  expenses.     He   furnished  the   Sunday  after- 


TUB  BRITISH  ASSOCIATIONS.  1855  TO  1861  2,Z7 

noon  lunches  made  up  of  "tea  and  seedy  cake"  G^iven 
at  the  Sunday  Bible  classes.  Toward  the  fitting  up  of 
the  first  resort  on  Gresham  Street  in  1849  he  gave 
two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  he  was  the  largest 
donor  toward  the  premises  on  Aldersgate  Street  in 
1854. 

At  the  opening  of  these  premises  Hitchcock  made 
one  of  his  forceful  speeches.  He  said:  "I  think  it 
quite  a  mistake,  to  suppose  that  ministers  arc  to  do 
all  the  converting  of  men."  "I  feel  a  deep  sympathy 
with  this  institution,  it  has  hold  of  my  heart  and  it 
has  hold  of  my  judgment.  ...  I  remember  what 
London  was  when  I  was  a  young  man.  .  .  .  Twenty- 
seven  years  ago  (1827)  I  came  to  London  and  for 
some  time  after  that  it  might  be  said  of  the  young 
men  of  London,  no  man  cared  for  their  souls — or  their 
bodies  either.  Young  men  in  the  large  houses,  for 
they  were  worse  than  the  small  ones,  were  herded  to- 
gether, ten  or  fifteen  in  a  room  at  night.  They  were 
literally  driven  from  the  shops  to  their  beds  and  from 
their  beds  to  the  shop  by  a  person  called  a  floor 
walker.  There  was  no  sitting  room,  no  social  com- 
forts, no  library;  they  remained  until  they  were  taken 
ill ;  then  they  were  discharged  at  a  moment's  notice. 
Away  the}^  went,  many  of  them  to  the  work-house 
and  numbers  used  to  die  prematurely.  But  what  a 
change  has  taken  place  and  principally  through  this 
Association  and  that  admirable  institution,  the  Early 
Closing  Association." 

At  the  second  British  Convention  in  London,  1859, 
Hitchcock  was  present  and  presided  at  one  of  the  ses- 
sions, but  his  health  began  to  fail  about  this  time  and 
he  died  not  long  after,  in  1863. 

Sec.  50. — George  Williams 
The  great  and  indefatigable  worker  in  the  London 
Association  was  George  Williams,  the  prince  of  Chris- 


338  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

tian  laymen,  who  for  sixty  years,  from  the  Founding 
of  the  Association  in  1844  until  his  death  at  eighty- 
four  years  of  age  in  1904,  was  beyond  all  others  the 
chief  factor  in  this  work  for  young  men. 

It  is  not  often  a  man  has  the  opportunity  to  be  both 
the  founder  and  promoter  of  a  great  cause.  His  later 
work  will  appear  as  the  history  of  the  Association  is 
told,  but  undoubtedly  he  and  the  secretary,  W.  E. 
Shipton,  were  the  vital  factors  in  London  during  the 
critical  years  from  1855  to  1861.  During  these  years 
Williams  rose  into  prominence  in  business  life.  He 
became  the  most  trusted  employe  in  the  firm  of  Hitch- 
cock &  Company,  the  intimate  adviser  of  the  chief 
proprietor,  and  then  a  partner  in  the  firm.  Upon  the 
death  of  George  Hitchcock  in  1863  Williams  was 
made  the  head  of  the  business  which  had  grown 
steadily  since  his  first  employment  in  1841.  Among 
his  business  friends  in  London  were  Samuel  and  John 
Morley,  who  seconded  all  his  efforts  to  promote  the 
Association,  also  Messrs.  Owen  and  Bevan,  who  had 
favored  the  Association  from  its  organization.  The 
seventh  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  then  Lord  Ashley,  be- 
came acquainted  with  Williams  in  1847,  when  the  As- 
sociation was  in  its  infancy.  He  became  warmlv 
attached  to  young  Williams  and  at  his  solicitation 
presided  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Association. 
This  led  to  Earl  Shaftesbury's  accepting  the  presi- 
dency of  the  organization  in  1851,  a  position  in  which 
he  continued  to  serve  until  his  death  in  1885.  A\"il- 
liams,  as  his  wealth  increased,  liberally  supported  the 
many  benevolent  projects  of  the  Earl  for  the  uplift  of 
the  working  classes  of  England  and  Earl  Shaftesbury 
was  accustomed  to  speak  of  George  Williams  as  "his 
best  friend." 

They  sympathized  closely  in  their  religious  views, 
particularly  after  Williams,  at  the  time  of  his  mar- 
riage in  1853,  decided  to  reidentify  himself  with  the 


THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATIONS.  1855  TO  1861  339 

Church  of  Juigland.  Doth  the  Earl  of  Shaftcslmry 
and  George  WilHams  were  staunch  hjw-church  men 
and  opposed  to  "Puseyism." 

When  WiUiams  was  an  apprentice  in  the  drapery 
house  at  Bridgevvater  he  had  friends  in  both  the  In- 
dependent and  Unitarian  societies.  In  the  earnest 
discussion  which  then  arose,  Williams  defniitely  ac- 
cepted the  conservative  orthodox  view  of  the  deity 
of  Jesus  and  salvation  through  His  death  on  the  cross. 
He  never  wavered  from  this  conviction.  In  his  ideas 
of  conduct  he  always  held  to  the  strict  puritan  ideals 
of  his  rural  home  in  Devonshire.  Sabbath  observance 
was  to  him  a  sacred  duty.  He  was  a  "teetotaler"  at  a 
time  when  this  was  regarded  as  an  extreme  position. 
His  biographer  points  out  that  he  even  settled  some 
important  questions  in  life  by  the  Old  Testament 
method  of  casting  lots. 

But  while  Williams  held  these  stern  puritan  rules 
of  conduct  for  himself  and  accepted  a  rigid  Calvinistic 
system  of  doctrine,  he  was  so  practical  in  spirit  and 
so  broad  in  his  sympathies  that  he  permeated  the 
whole  London  Association  with  a  tolerant,  concilia- 
tory temper.  He  was  interdenominational  in  his  atti- 
tude toward  all  questions.  When  an  attempt  was 
made  to  prevent  Charles  Spurgeon  from  addressing 
an  Association  gathering,  Williams  carried  the  day 
against  sectarian  prejudice. 

Williams  believed  in  sympathetic  personal  contact 
as  the  best  method  of  Christian  work.  It  was  a  favor- 
ite suggestion  of  his  in  telling  how  to  lead  a  young 
man  into  the  Christian  life,  "Don't  argue  with  him ; 
invite  him  to  supper."  His  sole  aim  was  the  conver- 
sion of  young  men  and  he  brushed  aside  doctrinal  dis- 
putes and  ecclesiastical  distinctions  because  he  saw 
that  these  were  of  no  interest  to  the  young  men  he 
desired  to  reach. 

As  he  advanced  in  business  life  he  faced  the  ques- 


340  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

tion  of  the  use  of  his  own  leisure  time.  Williams  pos- 
sessed the  cheery,  social  temperament  which  made 
him  popular  with  all  classes  of  society.  However, 
after  some  years  of  life  in  London  he  decided  to  de- 
vote himself  completely  to  Christian  endeavor  among 
young  men.  In  his  diary,  in  1857,  he  wrote  ("Life  of 
Sir  George  Williams,"  Hodder  W'illiams,  p.  146)  :  "I 
do  solemnly  declare  from  this  evening  to  give  myself 
unreservedly  to  this  Association,  to  live  for  the  pros- 
perity of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  I 
do  praise  God  for  having  called  me  by  His  grace  and 
so  blessed  me  temporally.  I  do  desire  to  be  very  low 
at  His  feet  for  all  His  mercies.  I  thank  Him  for  the 
determination  of  so  living  as  to  be  useful  among  the 
young  men  of  the  world,  and  now,  O  Lord,  I  pray 
Thee  to  give  me  from  this  hour  a  double  portion  of 
Thy  spirit  that  I  may  so  labor  and  work  in  this  Thy 
cause  that  very  many  souls  may  be  converted  and 
saved." 

When  the  question  of  broadening  the  work  of  the 
Associations  and  admitting  "associates"  to  the  privi- 
leges of  the  organization  arose,  Williams,  in  spite  of 
pronounced  opposition,  carried  through  the  advanced 
program.  He  favored  the  establishment  of  the  club 
house  or  resort  on  Gresham  Street  and  was  active 
later  in  raising  money  for  the  larger  building  on 
Aldersgate  Street  in  1854. 

It  was  chiefly  due  to  George  Williams  that  a  group 
of  distinguished  Christian  laymen  became  members 
of  the  managing  committee  of  the  Association.  These 
men  did  not  attend  to  the  details  of  the  daily  activities 
of  the  society,  but  they  were  responsible  for  its  gen- 
eral management  and  the  establishment  of  policies. 
The  Association  is  primarily  a  laymen's  organization 
and  much  of  the  success  of  the  movement  has  been 
due  to  the  locating  of  final  responsibility  in  the  hands 


THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATIONS,  1855  TO  1S61  341 

of  laymen.      George    Williams'   greatest   gift   to   the 
world  was  his  own  devoted  persc^nalit}'. 

Sec.  51. — T.  Henry  Taklton 

T.  Henry  Tarlton  and  his  assistant  and  successor, 
\V.  Edwyn  Shipton,  were  the  first  employed  officers 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  Tarlton 
became  secretary  (missionary)  in  1845  and  continued 
in  this  position  until  1856,  when  he  resigned  to  enter 
the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  England.  He  gave  up 
a  position  of  prominence  and  a  larger  salary  because 
he  saw  in  the  work  of  the  Association  an  unusual 
opportunity  for  service. 

Tarlton  and  Williams  were  intimate  friends.  In 
deputation  work  in  all  parts  of  the  country  they 
traveled  as  companions,  seeking  to  help  in  organiz- 
ing provincial  Associations.  They  roomed  together 
during  the  early  days  of  the  Association  and  worked 
out  in  conference  many  of  the  plans  for  its  advance- 
ment. Tarlton  was  a  progressive  man  and  favored 
the  broader  program  of  work.  The  Young  Men's 
Magazine  of  New  York  in  1857  said:  "The  name  of 
Tarlton  is  known  and  honored  by  an  army  of  young 
men  in  America.  .  .  .  The  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  found  its  development  in  London,  where 
T.  Henry  Tarlton  has  been,  as  secretary  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, its  leading  spirit.  His  influence  has  probably 
done  more  to  form  the  high  character  of  that  ef^cient 
institution  than  that  of  any  other  man." 

Under  Tarlton's  leadership  the  first  building  was 
occupied  on  Gresham  Street  in  1849.  Here  the  wel- 
fare work  as  well  as  the  religious  work  was  developed. 
Tarlton  was  the  organizer  of  the  branches  in  different 
parts  of  London  and  later  of  the  provincial  branches. 
He  attended  the  Paris  Convention  in  1855  and  after 
entering  the  ministry  he  was  in  frequent  demand  as  a 
speaker  at  Association  gatherings. 


342  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

The  London  Association  grew  so  rapidly  under 
Tarlton's  leadership  that  it  was  necessary  to  seek  a 
larger  building.  For  four  years  its  headquarters 
were  in  the  small  rooms  at  Sergeants  Inn,  Fleet 
Street;  five  years  in  the  more  ample  rooms  in 
Gresham  Street.  The  premises  on  Aldersgate  Street 
were  opened  on  September  28,  1854.  On  this  occasion 
(Occasional  Paper,  No.  2,  pp.  5-6)  Tarlton  said:  ''For 
a  length  of  time  the  rooms  were  altogether  too  small 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  members  who  daily  use 
them  and  from  their  crowded  state  at  the  Bible  classes 
on  Sunday,  they  were  very  unhealthy.  ...  It  is  im- 
possible to  chronicle  the  labors,  still  more  so  the  influ- 
ences, which  have  been  exercised  during  the  past  ten 
years  by  the  Association.  It  is  estimated  that  up- 
wards of  6,000  young  men  have  attended  the  Bible 
classes,  that  50,000  have  attended  its  lectures,  and 
that  of  the  lectures  published  650,000  copies  have 
been  sold.  .  .  .  Our  aim  will  continue  to  be  that 
which  it  has  been,  the  moral  and  spiritual  welfare  of 
young  men.  We  shall  endeavor  to  use  all  subordinate 
agencies  for  the  attainment  of  that  ultimate  object. 
Whatever  may  appear  designed  to  reach  the  wants, 
purify  the  taste,  and  elevate  the  affections  of  young 
men  we  hope  to  have  wisdom  to  adopt  and  to  adapt 
for  our  use.  Above  all  things  do  we  desire  that  by 
God's  grace  we  may  guide  many  young  men  into  the 
pathways  of  life  and  assist  in  training  them  in  the 
holy  art  of  doing  good  to  others,  that  all  those  who 
are  members  of  the  Association  may,  in  their  individ- 
ual spheres,  seek  to  glorify  Christ  by  serving  Him  in 
an  unostentatious  righteous  spirit." 

Sec.  52. — W.  Edwyn  Shipton 

W.  Edwyn  Shipton  became  secretary  in  full  charge 
of  the  London  Association  in  1856.    Much  of  both  the 


77//:  URITJSII  ASSOCIATIONS,  1855  TO  1861  343 

narrowness  and  the  greatness  of  the  Association  work 
of  the  succeeding  thirty  years  was  due  to  him.  Hod- 
dcr  Williams  wrote  of  the  two  secretaries  as  follows 
("Life  of  Sir  George  Williams,"  Hodder  Williams,  p. 
177)  :  "Two  more  devoted  and  in  their  several  ways 
more  brilliant  men  than  Tarlton  and  Shipton  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  find.  The  first  was  the  en- 
thusiast, the  orator;  the  second,  the  statesman  and 
the  organizer.  Shipton  would  have  succeeded  in  any 
walk  of  life.  He  relinquished  a  promising  business  in 
order  to  give  himself  wholl}^  to  the  work  for  young 
men  and  he  brought  into  that  work  all  the  ability  and 
fertility  of  resource  of  a  successful  merchant.  His 
tact,  his  (|uickness,  his  grasp  of  detail,  his  breadth  of 
mind,  his  power  of  work,  and  his  tremendous  energy 
were  of  the  utmost  service  to  the  Association.  It  was 
in  a  large  measure  owing  to  him  that  the  work  so 
triumphantl}'  won  through  its  most  critical  years." 

His  genial  social  spirit  shone  forth  at  the  annual 
Christmas  breakfast  of  the  Association  and  at  the 
supper-conferences  of  the  committee  of  management 
which  came  to  be  held  at  George  Williams'  home, 
Russell  Square.  He  was  jealous  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Association's  cause  and  feared  absorption  in  the 
organization  would  cause  its  leaders  to  regard  the 
organization  as  an  end  in  itself  instead  of  simply  a 
means  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  young  men.  This 
is  a  temptation  to  the  employed  officers  of  any  organ- 
ization, particularly  to  those  of  long  service.  They 
are  apt  to  become  partisan  and  to  forget  the  purpose 
of  the  organization  in  their  zeal  to  build  up  the  insti- 
tution itself.  Shipton  never  forgot  that  he  was  serv- 
ing a  great  cause. 

He  was  interdenominational  in  spirit  and  strongly 
opposed  sectarianism.  His  great  interest  was  in  re- 
ligious work  and  he  always  looked  upon  the  welfare 
agencies  of  the  Association  as  subordinate  and  only 


344  YOUNG  MEXS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

to  be  employed  as  they  contributed  to  or  made  re- 
ligious work  possible.  Shipton  favored  social  rooms 
and  educational  features,  but  was  unfriendly  to 
amusements.  In  answer  to  a  correspondent  he  pub- 
lished the  following  statement  ("Life  of  George  Wil- 
liams," Ilodder  Williams,  p.  155) :  "We  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  saying  that  a  Christian  young  man  had 
better  not  compete  in  a  swimming  match,  or  indeed  in 
a  match  of  any  kind.  The  desire  of  distinction  will 
itself  be  a  snare,  while  if  he  should  win  in  the  strife 
passions  of  envy,  jealousy,  or  disappointment  may 
be  engendered  in  his  competitors." 

This  was  written  at  a  time  when  the  American  As- 
sociations were  discussing  the  introduction  of  physi- 
cal training,  and  just  after  the  convention  at  New 
Orleans  had  approved  of  both  amusements  and  gym- 
nastics. Shipton,  in  an  editorial  in  the  Quarterly 
Messenger  on  the  occasion  of  the  Shakespeare  ter- 
centenary celebration,  speaks  of  two  eminent  minis- 
ters "who  trailed  their  Christian  priesthood  in  the 
dust  to  offer  homage  at  the  shrine  of  a  dead  play- 
wright." 

"We  see,"  he  continues  ("Life  of  George  \A'il- 
liams,"  Hodder  Williams,  p.  156),  "that  Archbishop 
Trench  closed  his  discourse  at  Stratford  church  by 
referring  to  the  correctness  of  Shakespeare's  views  on 
the  corruptness  of  human  nature  and  on  the  atoning 
sacrifice  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Did  he  think  such 
matters  were  of  much  account  to  those  who  were 
about  to  join  in  idle  pageants,  theatrical  fooleries,  and 
above  all  in  the  oratorio  of  the  Messiah  wherein  as 
John  Newton  once  said,  roughly  but  pointedly,  'the 
Redeemer's  agonies  are  illustrated  on  cat-gut !  Mas- 
querade and  sermon,  pageant  and  oratorio!  It  is  all 
very  mournful.'  "  Into  what  absurd  positions  the 
lingering  influence  of  the  ascetic  and  puritan  spirit 
placed  its  advocates. 


THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATIONS.  1S55  TO  1861  345 

Hodder  W  illianis  recounts  another  incident  which, 
while  it  occurred  several  years  later,  may  well  be  re- 
corded here  to  reveal  how  difficult  it  has  been  for 
the  Association  to  outgrow  the  traditional  attitude 
toward  amusements  and  recreation.  Some  members 
of  the  Dover  Association,  who  apparently  lacked  a 
sense  of  humor,  succeeded  in  excluding  Punch  from 
the  reading  room  on  the  ground  that  it  was  "con- 
temptuous of  religious  influences  if  not  absolutely 
hostile  to  them."  (''Life  of  Williams,"  pp.  195-197.) 
This  created  a  heated  and  scornful  discussion 
throughout  the  public  and  religious  press.  The  Do- 
ver Association  board  produced  as  its  evidence  a  car- 
toon which  contained  "a  humorous  illustration  of  an 
old  lady  imparting  to  a  sympathetic  friend  the  fact 
that  although  she  had  permitted  Susan  (It's  true, 
she's  a  dissenter)  to  go  to  chapel  three  times  a  Sun- 
day since  she  had  been  w^ith  her,  she  did  not  cook  a 
bit  better  than  she  did  the  first  day." 

Punch  retaliated  with  a  scathing  article  on  the 
"Dolts  of  Dover,"  showing  they  had  entirely  missed 
the  point  and  that  the  real  meaning  was  exactly  the 
reverse  of  their  statement.  In  this  plight  the  matter, 
according  to  the  custom  of  local  Associations,  was  re- 
ferred to  Shipton  and  the  board  of  the  parent  Asso- 
ciation for  advice.  They  took  the  position  that  the 
articles  in  Punch  were  not  unacceptable  to  religious 
people  but  agreed  with  the  Dover  board  that  the 
periodical  should  be  excluded  from  the  reading  room 
because  the  Association  was  not  intended  for  recrea- 
tion. 

Shipton  wrote  :  "With  the  provision  of  opportuni- 
ties for  religious  culture  and  education  under  reli- 
gious sanctions  our  engagements  with  young  men  are 
fulfilled.  We  have  never  proposed  to  ourselves  or  in 
any  manner  undertaken  to  cater  for  the  recreation  of 
young  men  even  in  directions  which  are  both  lawful 


346  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

and  expedient.  The  provision  for  recreative  litera- 
ture would  stand  on  the  same  ground  as  the  provision 
for  physical  recreation  or  other  lawful  amusement. 
]t  should  not  be  looked  for  in  connection  with  the 
arrangements  for  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation." 

This  is  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  present  position 
of  the  American  Associations  that  play  and  recreation 
properly  used  may  be  a  means  for  developing  per- 
sonality and  noble  character  and  that  fatigue  which 
may  be  overcome  by  recreation  is  often  the  basis  for 
temptation  and  moral  delinquency.  Shipton  did  not 
contribute  toward  broadening  the  work  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. 

He  was,  however,  one  of  the  great  popular  Bible 
teachers  of  his  day.  His  Sunday  afternoon  classes  for 
young  men,  followed  by  a  social  hour  with  "tea  and 
seedy  cake,"  became  the  model  for  Bible  classes  all 
over  the  Association  world.  American  visitors  were 
greatly  impressed  with  the  conversational  and  at  the 
same  time  spiritual  character  of  these  classes.  They 
were  always  animated  with  an  evangelistic  purpose 
and  at  the  close  direct  appeals  were  often  made  for 
young  men  to  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Redeemer. 

McCormick  of  New  York  at  the  Richmond  Con- 
vention in  1857  (Richmond  Convention  Report,  1857, 
p.  64)  said : 

"Of  the  Bible  classes  of  the  London  Association  no 
language  can  convey  too  good  a  report.  Hundreds 
of  young  men  prize  their  privileges  and  profit  by  their 
attendance.  Mr.  Tarlton,  the  estimable  honorary  sec- 
retary, often  has  several  hundred  in  his  class,  while 
in  the  same  building  (Aldersgate  Street)  and  at  the 
same  hour,  Mr.  Shipton  and  others  of  the  officers 
have  large  classes.  Indeed,  the  British  Associations 
with  scarcely  an  exception  devote  the  afternoon  of 
the  Sabbath  to  Bible  instruction.     Some  eisfht  or  ten 


THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATIONS,  1S55  TO  1S61  lAl 

classes  meet  in  different  parts  of  London  at  various 
branch  organizations. 

"The  secretaries  are  usually  the  leaders  and  control 
the  discussion  though  questions  may  be  put  by  any 
member.  Tea  is  furnished  immediately  after  ad- 
journment (say  at  5  p.m.),  that  the  young  men  may 
at  once  repair  to  evening  service  at  the  churches." 

It  was  by  visitors  to  these  Bible  classes  from  the 
provinces  and  from  abroad  that  the  spirit  and  ideals 
of  the  London  Association  were  carried  to  all  parts 
of  the  world.  The  Americans  were  slow  to  introduce 
this  form  of  effort,  but  later,  under  the  leadership  of 
McBurney,  conversational  Bible  instruction  became 
widespread.  W.  Hine  Smith  did  much  to  stimulate 
conversational  Bible  study  on  his  visit  to  the  Ameri- 
can Associations  in  1874.  (See  his  paper  at  Dayton 
Convention  and  the  discussion  which  followed.  Dav- 
ton  International  Report,  pp.  34-44.) 

Shipton  was  earnest  in  promoting  the  lecture 
courses  at  Exeter  Hall.  These  were  carried  on  for 
many  years  before  the  Association  purchased  that 
well-known  building  on  the  Strand  for  its  headquar- 
ters. This  series  of  lectures  was  published  under  the 
editorship  first  of  Tarlton,  then  of  Shipton,  in  bound 
volumes  which  reached  what  was  an  enormous  cir- 
culation for  the  times.  The  twenty  volumes  issued 
during  these  years  formed  a  notable  contribution  to 
popular  contemporary  thought. 

Shipton  prepared  for  the  Paris  Convention  in  1855 
a  history  of  the  first  eleven  years  of  the  London  As- 
sociation, which  is  a  notable  document.  Both  Tarl- 
ton and  Shipton  were  executive  secretaries,  though 
this  conception  of  the  office  was  later  further  de- 
veloped by  McBurney.  At  this  time  in  America  there 
were  few  employed  agents  and  none  of  them  were 
outstanding  leaders.  The  Montreal  Association  em- 
ployed a  city  missionary  chiefly  for  Sunday  school 


348  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

work.  The  Boston  and  New  York  Associations  em- 
ployed custodians  of  the  rooms  who  were  called 
librarians. 

Langdon,  Neff,  George  Stuart,  and  McCormick 
were  all  young  men  in  active  business  life,  who  gave 
both  of  their  time  and  means  unstintedly  for  the  As- 
sociation cause.  AVriting  to  one  of  the  American  lay- 
men at  Brooklyn  in  1856  Shipton  said:  "In  London, 
we  have  not  as  with  you  committees  for  the  discharge 
of  special  duties  in  connection  with  the  work.  Our 
committees  are  simply  consultative.  The  executives 
of  the  society  (Mr.  Tarlton  and  myself)  conduct  its 
meetings,  arrange  its  public  lectures,  keep  minutes 
and  accounts,  beg  and  disburse  its  funds,  conduct  all 
its  correspondence,  receive  young  men  for  private  re- 
ligious intercourse,  conduct  classes,  and  deliver  lec- 
tures to  our  own  and  branch  Associations.  Daily  at 
the  offices  superintend  the  reading  rooms,  receive 
visitors  to  the  Association,  and  supply  information  as 
to  its  proceedings,  meet  the  representatives  of  branch 
or  kindred  Associations  and  as  far  as  opportunity  ad- 
mits use  hospitality  toward  them."  {Young  Men's 
Christian  Journal,  February,  1859,  p.  31.) 

Langdon,  who  had  evidently  at  times  found  Ship- 
ton  too  much  occupied  for  correspondence  or  confer- 
ence, gives  the  following  vivid  picture  of  his  activi- 
ties : 

"Our  dear  brother,  the  London  secretary,  sits  at 
his  desk  in  his  sanctum.  Can  we  not  see  him  now, 
those  of  us  who  have  been  admitted?  Absorbed 
body,  mind,  and  heart,  early  and  late.  Surrounded 
with  papers,  packages,  and  letters,  he  sits  among 
those  who  continually  interrupt  him,  almost  vainly 
endeavoring  to  grasp  all  the  varied  duties  which  he 
has  assumed  and  to  be  faithful  to  all  the  varied  in- 
terests which  appeal  to  him. 

"Someone   is   almost   ever   with    him,    a   traveling 


THE  BRITISH  .-ISSOCLITIONS.  JS33  TO  1S61  349 

brother  from  the  provincial  societies  or  from  a  foreign 
land,  seeking  his  cordial  sympathy;  some  young  man, 
impressed  with  the  truth  at  a  Bible  class,  coming  for 
guidance,  a  member  of  the  committee  with  some  busi- 
ness plan,  or  some  curious  tourist  wishing  to  learn  of 
the  society  and  its  operations. 

"And  there  he  sits,  if  the  immediate  object  of  the 
visit  be  anything  below  the  highest  nature,  divided 
between  his  desk  and  you,  listening  and  even  speak- 
ing, too,  at  times  in  a  sort  of  parenthetical  manner 
and  with  a  partially  abstracted  look,  keeping  firm 
grasp  of  you,  and  at  the  same  time  of  whatever  he 
may,  at  the  moment,  have  beneath  his  pen,  and  from 
January  to  December  by  unavoidable  remissness  in 
correspondence  drawing  heavily  upon  the  stock  of 
Christian  love,  which  he  ever  keeps  abundantly  to  his 
credit  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  know  him.'' 

What  a  picture  of  devoted  unremitting  service. 
But  it  is  not  the  ideal  of  a  secretary  exemplified 
by  McBurney.  McBurney  looked  upon  Shipton's 
methods  of  administration  as  a  menace  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Association.  He  coined  the  phrase 
"secretarializing  an  Association"  to  describe  the 
process  by  which  the  employed  stafi*  gradually  takes 
on  the  work  which  should  be  done  by  the  committees 
and  the  members.  The  function  of  the  secretary  was 
to  be  the  leader,  the  organizer  of  scores  and  hundreds 
of  young  men,  who  would  do  the  actual  work  of  ex- 
tending the  Kingdom  of  Christ  among  young  men. 

The  chief  task  of  the  secretary  is  to  develop  laymen. 

Nevertheless,  Shipton  accomplished  a  marvelous 
amount  of  service.  He  was  not  only  secretary  at 
Aldersgate  Street,  but  he  held  a  fatherly  relationship 
to  the  metropolitan  and  provincial  branches  and 
through  the  world's  conventions  which  he  promoted 
he  exercised  a  leadership  over  the  Associations  of  all 
lands. 


350  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

British  Association  leaders  in  the  provincial 
branches  chafed  under  the  restraint  which  the  "pa- 
rental" form  of  national  organization  had  established 
in  Great  Britain.  Many  wished  a  national  committee 
elected  by  delegates  from  all  the  Associations  and  an 
annual  convention  at  which  an  interchange  of  ideas 
might  take  place  and  at  which  the  national  council 
might  be  appointed.  Langdon  was  active  in  urging 
this  during  his  tour  of  the  British  Associations.  The 
Association  at  Edinburgh  and  those  at  other  points 
urged  such  a  step. 

One  of  the  important  incidents  of  this  period  was 
the  assembling  of  the  first  British  Conference  at 
Leeds,  September  28-29,  1858.  This  gathering  was 
brought  about  chiefly  by  those  who  wished  a  more 
representative  type  of  national  organization,  similar 
to  that  in  America. 

An  ofificer  of  one  of  the  principal  British  Associa- 
tions wrote  Langdon  a  letter  in  1856  in  which  he 
said  {Quarterly  Reporter,  1858,  p.  44) :  "I  almost  long 
to  be  in  America  where  there  are  fewer  prejudices  to 
be  removed  before  new  institutions  can  be  introduced. 
.  .  .  This  .  .  .  will  be  one  difificulty  to  overcome  be- 
fore we  can  have  such  a  confederation  as  you  have  in 
America.  .  .  .  Many  of  us  feel  daily  the  want  of  ad- 
vice in  carrying  out  our  great  object.  ...  I  feel  .  .  . 
how  much  I  might  profit  by  the  advice,  counsel,  and 
sympathy  of  those  of  our  brethren  who  are  doing  the 
same  work  in  other  parts  of  England.  The  day  is  not 
far  distant,  I  hope,  when  we  shall  have  the  oppor- 
tunity your  annual  gathering  affords  you  of  becom- 
ing personally  acquainted  with  those  whose  counsel 
would  be  valuable." 

Most  of  the  British  Associations  accepted  the  Paris 
Basis  and  regarded  themselves  as  theoretically  in  a 
British  Union,  but  they  had  never  met  in  convention 
and  had  no  publication  for  the  interchange  of  ideas 


THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATIONS,  1S55  TO  iS6r  351 

and  for  the  presentation  of  reports.  The  anniversary 
of  the  London  Association  and  its  annual  report  with 
statistics  of  the  branches  were  the  chief  but  inade- 
quate means  of  intercommunication. 

Lang-don  in  writing  of  this  situation  said  {Young 
Men's  Christian  Journal,  1859,  p.  109):  "For  that 
which  has  been  accomplished  towards  organizing  a 
'British  Union'  the  credit  and  the  gratitude  is  due  to 
Brother  Shipton  of  London;  but  for  the  state  into 
which  it  has  practically  lapsed  we  should  be  careful  in 
similarly  assigning  the  blame.  The  chief  difficulty  is 
that  the  London  secretary  has  but  one  brain  and  a 
single  pair  of  hands.  The  mistake  is  the  never-aban- 
doned hope  on  his  part  that  he  may  yet  be  able  to 
accomplish  all  that  his  large  heart  aims  at." 

It  was  simply  impossible  to  carry  on  the  local  work 
of  the  London  Association  and  give  adequate  super- 
vision to  the  Associations  of  the  United  Kingdom.  A 
compromise  was  effected  at  the  Leeds  Conference  by 
the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution:  "This  con- 
ference acknowledges  the  past  services  of  the  London 
Association  as  center  to  the  existing  Confederation 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  requests  it  to  act  in 
that  capacity  until  next  year;  but  suggests  that  a  com- 
mittee of  correspondence  be  appointed  to  assist  the 
London  committee  in  effecting  any  organization  that 
mav  be  thought  desirable  or  in  anv  other  wav  to  fur- 
ther  the  general  interests  of  the  Association." 

This  committee  was  named  in  the  resolution  and 
was  accepted  by  the  convention,  but  the  effort  really 
came  to  nothing  in  the  end. 

The  second  British  Convention  was  held  the  fol- 
lowing year  at  London.  The  Young  Men' s  Christian 
Journal  of  the  American  Association  (1859,  p.  17) 
says :  "Three  central  committees  corresponding  to 
that  of  our  own  Confederation,  have  been  established, 
severally  at  London  for  England,  at  Edinburgh  for 


352  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

Scotland,  and  it  is  hoped  that  Dublin  will  undertake 
the  same  office  for  Ireland.  These  committees  are 
empowered  conjointly  to  call  annual  conventions  and 
to  make  all  necessary  preparations  therefor." 

The  British  work  did  not,  however,  secure  a  satis- 
factory organization  for  supervision  until  the  estab- 
lishment in  1883  of  the  National  Council  of  which 
George  Williams  became  the  first  president.* 

*  The  lost  opportunity  of  those  twenty  and  more  years  proved  to 
be  a  handicap,  only  emphasized  by  comparison  with  America  and 
not  yet  outgrown,  it  may  be  frankly  admitted. — R.  E.  L. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  ASSOCIATIONS  ON  THE  CONTINENT 
OF  EUROPE,  1855  TO  1861 

It  is  not  proposed  to  reconstruct  in  detail  the  work 
on  the  continent.  Western  Europe  was  divided  then 
as  now  religiously  between  the  Roman  Catholic  and 
the  Protestant  communions  and  politically  on  na- 
tional and  racial  lines.  It  was  not  a  unit.  There 
was  no  such  union  in  the  main  interests  of  life  as  was 
found  in  Great  Britain  or  in  North  America.  Western 
Europe  has  inherited  a  common  culture  from  medie- 
val and  classic  times,  but  it  has  no  common  speech, 
no  political,  religious,  racial,  or  even  economic  unity. 
The  period  under  discussion  saw  the  beginnings  of 
those  struggles  for  national  unity  which  have  only 
reached  their  chmax  in  the  recent  great  World  War 
and  which  have  resulted  in  twenty-five  independent 
sovereign  states.  This  movement  can  never  find  an 
equilibrium  except  in  some  association  of  nations  that 
w'ill  constitute  a  real  world  unity.  The  medieval  ideal 
of  a  united  Christendom,  a  veritable  "City  of  God," 
had  been  overwhelmed  by  the  upheavals  of  the  Refor- 
mation and  the  readjustments  to  modern  life.  There 
was,  however,  an  unquenchable  desire  for  unity  and 
solidarity  in  the  hearts  of  the  peoples  of  Western 
Europe.  International  organizations  for  fellowship 
like  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  express 
this  ideal  and  it  was  the  consciousness  of  this  desire 
which  so  often  thrilled  the  hearts  of  delegates  from 
distant  lands  at  world  conventions. 


354  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

The  diversities  among  the  people  of  Western 
Europe  made  any  form  of  union  effort  most  difficult. 
How  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  on  the 
continent  were  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  among  young  men  was  a  difficult  prob- 
lem. It  is  not  surprising  that  both  the  type  of  Asso- 
ciation and  the  methods  of  work  varied  in  many 
respects  from  those  in  Great  Britain  and  North  Amer- 
ica and  yet  there  was  a  fundamental  unity  of  spirit 
and  purpose. 

The  continental  Associations  fall  into  two  groups, 
those  among  French-speaking  young  men  and  those 
in  Lutheran  countries.  The  Holland  Associations 
were  more  closely  allied  with  the  French  group  but 
presented  characteristics  of  their  own. 

Sec.  53. — The  French  and  Swiss  Associations 

The  three  most  virile  centers  of  spiritual  life  among 
the  French-speaking  group  were  Geneva,  Paris,  and 
Nimes.  The  outstanding  leaders  were  Henri  Dunant 
and  Max  Perrot  of  Geneva,  Pastor  J.  Paul  Cook  of 
Paris,  and  Laget  of  Nimes. 

Like  Mt.  Blanc  among  the  Alps,  so  Geneva  stands 
out  unique  among  the  cities  of  Europe — the  cradle 
of  religious  liberty,  the  home  of  John  Calvin,  Rous- 
seau, and  Henri  Amiel,  the  asylum  for  the  persecuted 
and  the  seat  of  science  and  learning.  At  the  period 
under  discussion  its  population  numbered  but  60,000; 
there  were  both  a  State  and  a  free  Church.  The  can- 
ton and  the  municipality  were  democratic.  To  the 
world  Geneva  is  not  a  place.  It  has  stood  for  an  ideal. 
Without  military  strength  or  commercial  greatness 
it  has  relied  on  moral  power.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
Geneva  was  the  leader  in  Christian  work  among 
young  men  on  the  continent  or  that  the  World's 
Committee  was  later  located  within  its  borders. 


ASSOCI.ITIOXS  L\'  CONTIXEXTAL  EUROPE         355 

The  difficulties  facing  evangelical  Christian  work 
for  young  men  in  Europe  were  immense.  Neff  of 
Cincinnati,  writing  of  his  tour  of  the  continental  As- 
sociations in  1859,  compared  the  situation  at  home 
and  abroad.  {Young  Mens  Christian  Journal,  1859, 
Vol.  5,  p.  137.)  He  said:  "Here  [America]  every- 
thing is  favorable;  religion  is  respectable;  piety  is 
considered  a  desirable  qualification  by  all;  the  Sab- 
bath is  generally  observed  and  every  man  is  free  to 
worship  his  ]\Iaker  according  to  the  dictates  of  his 
conscience.  On  the  continent  it  is  very  different.  The 
State  religion  is,  I  fear,  almost  entirely  a  religion  of 
pomp  and  ceremony.  Piety,  evangelical  religion,  are 
regarded  as  heresy  or  fanaticism.  The  Sabbath  is 
generally  not  observed  at  all  or  made  a  gala  day;  and 
he  who  wishes  to  worship  God  in  any  other  way  than 
that  which  is  sanctioned  by  the  State,  though  he  may 
not  be  interfered  with,  will  certainly  find  more  'cold 
shoulders'  than  'helping  hands.'  Even  in  Geneva  the 
peasants  of  Savoy  assemble  in  the  market-place  on 
the  Sabbath  day  with  the  implements  of  husbandry 
in  their  hands  to  be  hired  for  the  week,  while  in  all 
the  continental  cities  I  have  visited  the  shops  are  open 
and  business  of  all  kinds  transacted  until  'rouge  et 
noir'  on  Sabbath  night  at  Baden-Baden  caps  the  cli- 
max of  desecration.  Under  such  circumstances  the 
profession  and  practice  of  evangelical  Christianity  is 
no  trifling  undertaking,  and  such  organizations  as  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  on  the  continent 
appear  to  me  to  be  instrumentalities  chosen  and  ap- 
proved by  our  Heavenly  Father  for  keeping  alive  the 
faith  and  zeal  of  His  children." 

Langdon  regarded  Geneva  as  the  most  interesting 
Association  field  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  (First 
Washington  Report,  p.  34.)  Nef¥  was  of  the  same 
opinion.  He  says  (Young  Men's  Christian  Journal, 
1859,  p.  136),  "If  two  societies  were  selected  as  repre- 


356  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

sentatives  of  the  Associations  of  the  continent  and 
Great  Britain  they  would  probably  be  those  of 
Geneva  and  London  because  they  best  exemplify  the 
different  systems  pursued." 

The  early  history  of  the  Geneva  Association  is 
bound  up  with  the  life  of  Henri  Dunant. 

In  the  summer  of  1847  this  remarkable  young  man 
with  two  others  made  an  excursion  into  the  Swiss 
Alps  which  proved  of  great  significance.  One  of 
these  young  men,  writing  in  1858  {Quarterly  Re- 
porter, 1858,  Vol.  3,  pp.  33-35),  says,  "Often  when 
we  were  clambering  up  our  beautiful  mountains,  our 
conversation  turned  upon  religious  subjects  and  at 
night  before  retiring  we  rendered  together  our  thanks 
to  the  Creator  of  the  sublime  grandeur  that  we  had 
been  admiring  during  the  day."  These  conferences 
they  decided  to  continue  on  their  return  to  Geneva. 
The  meetings  soon  became  too  large  for  the  homes 
in  which  they  assembled  and  the  young  men  secured 
a  hall  belonging  to  the  Evangelical  Society. 

The  writer  continues:  "At  this  time  our  friend 
Dunant  was  by  far  the  most  active  and  the  most  de- 
voted. He  brought  to  the  reunions  and  visited  at 
their  homes  more  young  men  than  all  the  others.  He 
was  qualified  to  discover  those  who  were  able  to  join 
us.  ...  It  was  he  who  first  had  the  idea  of  our  being- 
put  in  relations  with  the  young  men  of  other  cantons 
and  other  countries." 

Henri  Dunant  also  had  the  leading  influence  in 
founding  the  Red  Cross  Society.  In  1859  he  was  a 
voluntary  stretcher-bearer  on  the  battlefield  of  Sol- 
ferino.  The  scenes  of  suffering  and  cruelty  which  he 
witnessed  there  led  him  to  urge  the  founding  of  an 
international  society  for  the  aid  of  wounded  soldiers. 
He  published  in  1862  a  treatise  entitled  "Un  Souvenir 
de  Solferino"  and  delivered  lectures  advocating  relief 
in   war.      These    efforts    led    to    several    conferences 


ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CONTINENTAL  EUROPE         357 

which  resulted  in  the  "Geneva  Convention"  of  1864, 
signed  by  ten  different  governments,  establishing  the 
Red  Cross.  The  new  International  Encyclopedia 
states  (Vol.  7,  p.  324,  1915):  "M.  Dunant  bestowed 
his  entire  fortune  on  various  charities.  In  1901  he 
received  the  Nobel  prize  for  services  in  the  cause  of 
peace."     M.  Dunant  was  also  a  writer  of  note. 

Langdon  said  of  Dunant,  he  "was  the  life  and  soul 
of  our  cause  in  the  early  days  on  continental  Europe." 
Writing  to  Langdon  in  1854  Dunant  says  of  himself, 
"Henceforth,  God  willing,  our  correspondence  shall 
become  active ;  in  fact,  no  one  is  better  able  to  tell 
you  of  the  great  awakening  which  is  operating  upon 
the  European  continent,  for  the  past  three  or  four 
years  among  young  men,  for  I  have  this  work  very 
closely  at  heart ;  and  for  five  years  I  have  sought  by 
my  vows  and  my  prayers  for  the  fraternal  and  Chris- 
tian affection  these  ecumenical  relations  between  the 
numerous  Associations  and  meetings  which  I  have 
had  the  happiness  to  see  arise,  little  by  little,  by  the 
grace  of  God." 

Dunant  became  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
Geneva  Association  in  1852,  the  same  year  Langdon 
was  appointed  to  that  office  by  the  Washington  As- 
sociation. The  early  Associations  owe  much  to  the 
fellowship  of  these  two  devoted  young  men.  Though 
widely  separated  they  stimulated  each  other  by  letter 
and  later  met  when  Langdon  visited  Geneva  in  1857. 

Dunant  wrote  Langdon  in  1854:  "We  believe  our- 
selves to  be  the  first  who  have  desired  this  exchange 
of  reports  and  correspondence  between  all  the  Asso- 
ciations of  the  world — for  this  we  have  constantly 
labored.  We  have  always  sent  all  our  addresses, 
which  are  numerous,  to  all  who  desired  them  and  we 
always  encouraged  all  the  Associations  of  different 
countries  to  place  themselves  in  connection  with  each 
other.     And  owing  to  this  we  alone  have  extended 


358  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

our  relations  entirely  over  Europe.  We  feel  deeply 
that  one  of  the  ends  of  Christian  unions  is  this  Chris- 
tian bond,  which  ought  to  unite  the  Christian  young 
men  throughout  the  world  and  which  one  day  can 
have  with  the  blessing  of  God  immense  power." 

Langdon  thus  described  the  Geneva  Association  of 
this  early  period  (First  Washington  Report,  1854,  p. 
35)  :  "The  hall  of  the  Geneva  Association,  situated 
on  the  srround  floor  of  the  house  in  which  Calvin  lived 
and  died,  is  open  from  5  to  10  o'clock  p.m.,  and  about 
250  young  men  are  in  the  habit  of  resorting  thither 
from  time  to  time  to  reap  the  advantages  presented 
by  a  library  of  a  thousand  volumes  and  to  peruse  the 
various  religious  journals,  French,  English,  German, 
and  Italian,  with  which  it  is  provided." 

The  Association  was  open  to  members  of  both  "the 
established  and  the  liberal  (free)"  churches.  "Twice 
a  week  are  held  meetings  for  the  study  of  the  Bible 
and  frequent  reunions  draw  the  members  together  to 
speak  of  their  own  spiritual  interests  and  of  the  affairs 
of  their  own  and  sister  Associations.  A  series  of  lec- 
tures of  a  spiritual  character  are  maintained,  in  which 
department,  as,  in  fact,  in  many  others,  the  valuable 
services  of  Professor  Merle  d'Aubigne  have  always 
been  devotedly  at  the  service  of  the  society.  Many 
of  the  members  spend  some  time  in  visiting  the  sick 
and  the  poor  and  bearing  the  oil  of  comfort  for  both 
the  body  and  the  spirit." 

The  young  men  of  the  Geneva  Union  were  eager 
to  promote  their  cause  throughout  Switzerland  and 
France.  Henri  Dunant  and  Max  Perrot  were  among 
the  leaders  in  this  effort.  A  network  of  small  Asso- 
ciations spread  over  the  Swiss  cantons,  both  French- 
and  German-speaking.  The  most  intimate  Christian 
fellowship  existed  between  these  small  groups  of 
young  men.  The  report  of  the  Geneva  Association 
to  the  eighth  London  anniversary  says:  "We  think 


ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CONTINENTAL  EUROPE         359 

that  interchange  of  visits  between  difYerent  unions 
will  be  a  source  of  great  blessing  for  all.  Tw^o  mem- 
bers of  our  society,  Messrs.  Perrot  and  Johannot,  are 
gone,  the  one  to  Neuchatel  and  Berne  and  the  other 
to  Basle  and  Strasburg.  Everywhere  they  have  been 
received  with  a  cordial  welcome  and  have  partici- 
pated with  the  friends  in  these  different  localities  in 
the  delights  of  Christian  communion." 

One  Geneva  Report  (1858)  states,  "The  Union  of 
Geneva  desires  to  exert  a  direct  influence  and  to  be- 
come a  center  of  the  Unions  of  the  French  language." 
This  same  report  states  that  the  Geneva  Association 
had  entertained  as  guests  Heyblom  from  Amster- 
dam, Tarlton  from  London,  Russell  Cook  from  New 
York,  and  Laget  from  Nimes. 

Dunant  made  three  extended  tours  through  the 
French-speaking  Associations  of  Western  Europe. 
On  the  first  of  these  he  vj3.s  accompanied  by  Max 
Perrot,  president  of  the  Geneva  Association.  Writ- 
ing to  Langdon  Dunant  says :  "Our  sole  object  was 
the  visiting  of  unions  already  in  existence  and  the 
forming  of  new  ones — we  found  great  disposition 
toward  this  work  in  the  Cevennes — a  country  of 
many  memories  in  the  history  of  Protestantism.  We 
had  the  joy  of  seeing  numerous  meetings  and  Asso- 
ciations formed." 

On  his  second  tour  alone  (1853)  Dunant  visited 
middle  France  and  found  thirty  societies  and  meet- 
ings in  existence,  the  membership  varying  from  eight 
or  ten  to  as  many  as  forty  young  men. 

On  his  third  tour  in  1854  Dunant  found  still  greater 
progress.  He  writes,  "These  gatherings  and  these 
Associations  are  multiplying  in  an  incredible  manner 
in  this  poor  and  unhappy  country  of  France,  so  full 
of  superstition  and  infidelity."  The  members  of 
these  societies  developed  an  earnest  spiritual  charac- 
ter because  of  the  opposition  they  had  to  face.    They 


360  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

also  sought  fellowship  and  intercommunication  with 
other  societies  because  they  were  so  isolated  and 
small  in  membership. 

The  Geneva  Association  surpassed  all  of  the  others 
on  the  continent.  In  1859  its  membership  including 
patrons  of  the  reading  room  numbered  250  and  the 
society  found  it  necessary  to  seek  new  and  larger 
rooms.  Max  Perrot,  the  president,  said:  "Our  prayer 
meetings  these  last  weeks  were  crowded.  We  were 
obliged  to  have  two  or  three  at  the  same  hour  in  vari- 
ous chapels  and  rooms."  He  also  states  with  evident 
anxiety:  "I  shall  have  to  find  £300  this  winter  for 
our  Association,  Vvdiich  I  must  beg  myself.  It  is 
fatiguing  work  to  pay  more  than  100  begging  visits 
even  to  pious  people." 

The  Geneva  and  in  fact  all  the  Swiss  Associations, 
like  those  in  America,  were  not  limited  to  one  class 
of  young  men,  but  were  inclusive  in  character.  One 
report  speaks  of  members  from  the  highest  social 
class.  Another  says,  "The  social  position  of  our 
members  is  very  diverse;  all  ranks  of  society,  the  rich 
and  the  poor,  the  farmer  and  the  mechanic,  the  stu- 
dent and  the  clerk,  finding  place  among  them." 

The  Geneva  Association  attracted  chiefly  the 
young  men  of  strictly  conservative  doctrinal  views. 
The  Association  was  especially  devoted  to  Bible 
study.  One  report  states  (Eighth  London  Report, 
p.  43)  :  "We  are  desirous  by  the  help  of  God  to  pro- 
claim with  increasing  clearness  and  energy  the  great 
evangelical  truths."  Article  seven  of  the  Geneva 
Constitution  proclaims  belief  in  "the  divine  authority 
of  the  whole  word  of  God,  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity ; 
the  everlasting  divinity  and  humanity  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  only  and  perfect  Saviour;  the  neces- 
sity of  the  Christian  to  work  with  the  help  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  humility,  in  prayer,  and  in  total  renun- 
ciation  of   self,   in   making   known   everywhere    that 


ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CONTINENTAL  EUROPE         361 

only  Name  which  is  given  among-  men  whereby  they 
may  be  saved." 

At  the  Paris  Convention  in  1855  the  Swiss  dele- 
gates wished  to  have  belief  in  the  authority  of  the 
Bible  made  a  condition  for  the  recognition  of  Young 
Men's  Christian  x-\ssociations. 

The  Geneva  Association  also  reports  uniting  in 
prayer  with  the  Association  of  Edinburgh  "for  the 
fall  of  popery,  for  the  strengthening  of  persecuted 
Christians,  and  for  the  free  dissemination  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  in  the  countries  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Church,  of  Rome." 

The  secretary  of  the  Geneva  Association  wrote  as 
follows  to  the  Association  in  London  (Occasional 
Paper,  No,  1,  p.  17,  1853) :  "The  times  are  most  seri- 
ous; let  us  not  strive  to  conceal  it;  very  soon  perse- 
cutions may  come  and  we  may  have  to  appear  to  ren- 
der our  testimony.  .  .  ,  Let  the  word  of  our  Heavenly 
Father  be  our  only  nourishment.  At  the  very  mo- 
ment that  the  word  of  God  is  being  attacked  on  all 
sides,  let  us  be  ready  to  defend  it.  .  .  .  Alen  doubt 
its  inspiration;  let  us  receive  it  as  fully  inspired;  men 
despise  it;  let  it,  however,  be  our  most  precious 
treasury." 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  Geneva  Association 
leaders  should  have  urged  strongly  conservative  views 
regarding  the  authority  of  the  Bible  and  have  sought 
to  make  ultra-orthodox  teaching  characteristic  of  the 
Association.  This  had  been  the  historical  attitude  of 
the  church  leaders  of  Geneva.  Andrew  White,  writ- 
ing in  1898  ("A  History  of  the  Warfare  of  Science 
with  Theology  in  Christendom,"  Vol.  H,  p.  178),  says 
in  speaking  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  :  "The  Swiss 
Protestants  were  especially  violent  on  the  orthodox 
side:  their  formula  consensus  of  1675  declared  the 
vowel  points  to  be  inspired  and  three  years  later  the 
Calvinists  of  Geneva  by  a  special  canon  forbade  that 


362  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 


any  minister  should  be  received  into  their  jurisdiction 
until  he  publicly  confessed  that  the  Hebrew  text  as  it 
today  exists  in  the  Masoretic  copies  is  both  as  to  the 
consonants  and  vowel  points,  divine  and  authentic." 
With  this  background  the  Geneva  church  naturally 
leaned  toward  conservative  views. 

In  1855  the  struggle  between  the  traditional  inter- 
pretation of  the  Bible  and  that  based  upon  modern 
scholarship  was  already  intense  in  Europe  though  as 
yet  little  evidence  of  this  was  noticeable  in  America. 
Science,  evolution,  scholarship,  and  the  new  psychol- 
ogy and  above  all  the  social  conception  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  were  to  transform  Christian  ideals,  the 
conception  of  the  Bible,  of  God,  and  of  the  personality 
of  man.  It  is  upon  these  ideas  that  the  modern  As- 
sociation was  to  be  established  but  very  little  con- 
ception of  this  was  noticeable  in  Association  circles 
either  in  Europe  or  America. 

The  young  men  of  the  French  Associations  were 
of  the  valiant  type.  Their  work  was  largely  a  protest 
against  the  prevailing  unbelief  and  evil  conduct 
around  them.  They  were  the  outposts  in  the  ene- 
mies' country  and  were  men  of  heroic  spirit  and  deep 
spiritual  life.  In  1858  there  were  seventy-six  Asso- 
ciations in  France. 

Speaking  of  these,  and  particularly  of  the  Associa- 
tion at  Paris.  Langdon  said  {Young  Metis  Christian 
Journal,  1859,  pp.  31-32): 

"When  one  turns  to  the  reports  and  letters  from 
our  French  brethren,  he  is  struck  with  the  contrast 
presented  by  their  history  and  our  own  as  well  as  by 
that  between  the  characteristics  of  the  French  unions 
and  those  of  the  French  people  at  large.  Where,  as 
in  England,  the  Association  may  be  considered  in 
some  sort  a  development  of  the  national  institutions 
and  character,  it  bears  a  national  impress,  but  where, 
as  on  the  other  side  of  the  channel,  it  is  rather  a  re- 


ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CONTINENTAL  EUROPE         363 

action  from  national  institutions  and  character,  it  may 
be  expected  that  it  should  be  stamped  in  the  reverse. 

"While,  therefore,  we  have  seen  our  London 
brethren  occupying  a  prominent  and  actively  aggres- 
sive attitude,  laying  hold  of  secular  channels  through 
which  to  send  abroad  the  healthy  currents  of  reli- 
gious truth,  gathering  large  halls  full  of  young  men, 
established*  in  an  attractive  and  commodious  build- 
ing which,  from  the  porter's  stand  behind  the  great 
front  door  to  the  quiet  third-story  rooms  where  full 
meetings  gather  for  devotional  purposes,  permits  no 
single  thought  of  experimental  position  or  of  a  strug- 
gling life — we  turn  when  in  search  of  our  Paris 
brethren  away  from  the  Pont  des  Arts  through  dingy 
streets  toward  the  Ouartier  Latin;  and  though  we 
have  entered  the  Rue  Jacob  and  perhaps  found  No.  6, 
we  pass  the  gateway-looking  portal  into  the  court- 
yard and  ascend  the  stairs  more  than  half  doubtful  if 
the  address  on  which  we  have  relied  is  right. 

"Here  in  a  small  suite  of  rooms  are  found  a  few 
warm  Christian  hearts,  it  may  be,  reading  quietly  in 
the  outer  or  it  may  be  gathered  still  more  quietly 
within  the  inner  room,  engaged  in  the  study  of  the 
word  of  God — one  day  in  French,  one  day  in  English, 
and  a  third  in  German. 

"The  French  societies  are  small  and  simple  in  or- 
ganization, possessed  of  little  machinery  and  of  re- 
stricted means — exclusively  occupied  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  vital  piety  among  their  few  members  and 
attempting  nothing  aggressive.  .  .  .  The  restraint  to 
which  such  a  society  is  subjected  in  Paris  entirely 
prevents  it  from  realizing  their  hoped  for  activity  and 
general  usefulness.  ...  Its  membership  is  almost 
entirely  of  students  and  others  from  the  departments 
and  abroad,  rarely  including  a  Parisian." 

The  president  of  the  Paris  Association,  Pastor 
Paul  Cook,  wrote  to  the  London  Association,  "Our 


364  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

activities  are  quickened  by  the  realization  of  the  fact 
that  every  meeting  we  are  permitted  to  hold  may  be 
the  last,  as  we  frequently  carry  on  our  exercises  in 
the  presence  of  the  police  who  keep  a  strict  surveil- 
lance of  our  proceedings." 

Sec.  54. — The  Associations  in  Germany 

The  most  isolated  group  of  Associations  during  this 
period  were  in  Germany.  The  German  Associations 
were  represented  at  the  Paris  Convention  in  1855  by 
only  four  delegates  as  contrasted  with  fifteen  from 
Switzerland  and  sixteen  from  Great  Britain.  Pastor 
Diirselen,  the  great  leader  of  the  German  Associa- 
tions, was  made  vice-president  of  the  convention  and 
took  a  prominent  part.  Only  a  small  number  of  dele- 
gates from  Germany  attended  the  Second  World's 
Convention  at  Geneva  in  1858  and  but  three  the  third 
convention  at  London  in  1862. 

The  first  definite  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  British 
Associations  to  learn  of  the  work  in  Germany  was 
made  in  the  fall  of  1854,  when  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Glad- 
stone, who  later  visited  the  Associations  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  made  a  tour  of  the  German  Asso- 
ciations. Doctor  Gladstone  wrote  a  careful  account 
of  his  visit  which  was  published  in  the  Eighth  Lon- 
don Report  and  also  in  the  American  Quarterly  Re- 
porter. 

With  credentials  from  the  London  Association, 
Doctor  Gladstone  visited  the  Kirkentag  or  Church 
convention  attended  by  2,000  leaders  of  German  re- 
ligious life  at  Frankfort,  September,  1854.  At  this 
gathering  the  "Inner  Mission"  or  home  mission  work 
of  Germany  was  considered  and  as  a  part  of  it  the 
work  of  the  "Jiinglings  Verein"  or  Young  Men's 
Association.  In  this  intimate  way  the  work  of  the 
Association  was  recognized  as  an  integral  part  of  the 


ASSOCf.iriONS  IN  CONTINENTAL  EUROPE         365 

home  mission  work  of  the  German  Church  and  reso- 
huions  were  passed  calhng  upon  pastors  to  organize 
and  promote  these  Associations  wherever  possible. 

The  relation  of  the  Association  to  the  Church,  a 
vexed  question  in  America  with  its  many  denomina- 
tions, was  solved  in  Germany  by  making  the  parish 
minister  in  most  cases  president  of  the  Young  Men's 
Union. 

Doctor  Gladstone  reported  to  the  London  Associa- 
tion : 

"The  correspondence  maintained  with  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  in  many  parts  of  the 
continent  and  in  America  had  been  sufficient  to  satisfy 
our  members  in  England  as  to  the  Christian  aim  and 
the  generally  eiificient  working  of  the  many  societies 
which  have  so  rapidly  come  into  existence  there  dur- 
ing the  past  few  years.  Little  intelligence  had,  how- 
ever, been  received  from  Germany.  The  Associa- 
tions existing  there  were  not  in  correspondence  with 
our  own. 

"The  fact  of  a  large  number  of  societies  under 
the  name  Young  Men's  Associations  being  in  opera- 
tion in  various  parts  was  all  that  was  known;  and 
with  the  divided  state  of  religious  opinion  in  that 
country,  the  tendency  to  unrestrained  speculation  in 
the  region  of  spiritual  inquiry,  and  the  likelihood,  un- 
der circumstances  so  disadvantageous  as  those  there 
presented,  of  such  meetings  degenerating  into  oppor- 
tunities for  mere  intellectual  display  or  even  for  po- 
litical debate,  rather  than  for  the  promotion  of  the 
simplicity  of  the  Gospel — with  a  state  of  things  like 
this  it  was  ...  a  matter  of  uncertainty  and  solicitude 
how  far  the  Associations  in  Germany  might  have 
yielded  to  the  natural  current  and  prevailing  tend- 
encies of  the  time.  .  .  , 

"I  saw  it  my  duty  in  the  first  place  to  ascertain  by 


366  YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

personal  investigation  the  object,  the  character,  and 
the  conduct  of  the  German  Associations." 
Doctor  Gladstone  was  fully  convinced  that  in  all  these 
respects  the  German  Associations  should  be  affiliated 
with  and  recognized  by  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  of  other  lands. 

One  object,  he  mentions,  was  "to  draw  young  men 
away  from  the  theater  and  the  drinking-rooms,  and 
to  gather  them  together  for  purposes  of  mutual  im- 
provement, at  the  same  time  to  provide  for  them  a 
better  aliment  than  they  could  find  either  in  the  athe- 
istic or  socialistic  clubs  which  already  abounded  and 
which  were  a  positive  and  a  crying  evil." 

The  German  Associations  were  the  first  successful 
attempt  to  organize  a  religious  society  among  young 
workingmen  by  Protestant  leaders.  Doctor  Glad- 
stone states,  "The  class  referred  to,  known  in  Ger- 
many by  the  name  of  Handwerks-gesellen,  are  in- 
deed so  numerous  that  an  Association  of  young  men 
naturally  conveys  the  impression  of  a  society  estab- 
lished for  these  operatives  in  particular." 

The  German  Unions  were  compactly  organized, 
especially  in  Westphalia.  There  was  a  committee  in 
charge  of  the  entire  province,  under  this  was  the  dis- 
trict committee,  and  under  the  district  committees, 
the  local  unions.  Pastor  Diirselen  of  Ronsdorf  con- 
tinued through  twenty-five  years  to  act  as  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Rhenish-Westphalian  Union  and  in  this 
way  was  a  controlling  factor  in  the  German  work. 

The  establishment  of  homes  for  traveling  young 
workingmen  continued  to  be  the  most  unique  feature 
of  the  German  Associations.  Doctor  Gladstone  re- 
ports to  the  London  Association  the  most  cordial  re- 
ception from  the  German  societies  and  also  expresses 
his  approval  of  their  religious  teaching.  He  says:  "I 
associated  with  the  Frankfort  members  not  only  in 
the  more  important  meetings  of  the  Kirkentag  but 


ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CONTINENTAL  EUROPE         367 

also  at  their  ordinary  meetings  afterwards,  when  they 
were  in  their  ordinary  everyday  aspect.  It  is  with 
the  most  grateful  remembrance  that  I  call  to  mind  the 
happy  reception  1  had  among  them  and  the  kindly 
feeling  that  was  manifest  toward  me  on  the  ground 
of  Christian  brotherhood — a  feeling  that  would 
scarcely  permit  them  to  let  me  leave  their  midst  and 
which  showed  itself  by  many  attentions  to  myself  and 
many  charges  of  Christian  remembrance  and  frater- 
nal aflection  which  I  now  deliver  to  you." 

Doctor  Gladstone  says  of  the  religious  life  and 
teaching  of  the  German  Associations:  ''Gratefully 
and  joyfully  does  my  memory  recall  the  exhibition  I 
there  had  whilst  sitting  amongst  them  in  their  Bible 
class  and  joining,  though  in  a  strange  language,  their 
small  and  simple  circle  in  reading  and  prayer,  of  the 
realized  presence  of  God's  spirit  sanctifying  our  meet- 
ing and  rendering  it  a  season  of  heavenly  commun- 
ion." 

The  Unions  were  conservative  in  their  theological 
point  of  view  and  avoided  controversy.  Doctor  Glad- 
stone writes:  "Political  purposes  are  dreaded,  social- 
istic ideas  are  regarded  with  abhorrence,  mere  hu- 
manitarianism  is  known  and  felt  to  be  unsatisfying 
to  the  cravings  of  the  immortal  spirit  and  the  bare 
study  of  the  letter  of  the  Scripture,  the  controversy 
on  Christian  dogmatics,  the  mere  intellectual  gladia- 
torship  in  connection  with  religious  truth,  so  often 
exhibited  in  the  universities  of  their  land,  are  felt  by 
the  poor  journeymen  and  apprentices  that  form  the 
majority  of  these  Associations  to  be  objects  as  little 
desirable  in  themselves  as  they  are  for  the  most  part 
unattainable  by  them." 

The  German  Unions  in  the  West  and  North  made 
no  conditions  of  membership  except  willingness  to 
unite  with  the  society.  In  spite  of  this  Doctor  Glad- 
stone states  that  thev  maintained  easilv  the  religfious 


308  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

character  of  their  organizations.  In  fact,  they  were 
so  identified  with  the  Church  that  the  members  were 
often  scoffed  at  and  ridiculed  by  worldly  companions. 
In  Southern  Germany,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Unions 
required  for  membership  the  acceptance  of  the  Augs- 
burg confession,  but  Doctor  Gladstone  regarded  this 
as  limiting  their  usefulness. 

Sec.  5o. — The  Geneva  Conventiox,  1858 

The  culmination  of  the  Associations'  activity  in 
Europe  during  this  period  was  the  Second  World's 
Convention  held  in  August,  1858.  It  was  illustrative 
of  the  international  outlook  and  missionary  interest 
of  the  Association  at  Geneva  that  it  was  chosen  as  the 
host  for  this  convention.  The  deep  interest  of  the 
leaders  at  Geneva  in  the  work  at  large  was  a  precursor 
of  its  selection  twenty  years  later  as  the  headquarters 
of  the  Central  Committee. 

Following  the  Paris  Convention,  Shipton,  at  that 
time  the  only  employed  executive  officer  in  the  Asso- 
ciation world,  took  the  chief  place  in  general  affairs. 
Charles  Fermaud  says  of  him  ("Fifty  Years'  Work 
Among  Young  Men  in  All  Lands,"  1844  to  1894,  pp. 
7-8): 

"The  London  Association  rose  into  the  first  rank 
through  its  early  international  efforts,  the  complete- 
ness of  the  organization,  and  the  great  influence  of 
its  founder,  George  Williams.  With  him  were  asso- 
ciated other  distinguished  men.  Foremost  among 
them  was  William  Edwyn  Shipton,  the  first  London 
secretary.  He  was  a  man  richh'  gifted,  of  broad  and 
enlightened  views,  and  with  a  rare  knowledge  of 
men.  By  his  talents  and  his  force  of  character  he 
gathered  around  him  a  little  nucleus  of  friends  with 
whom  he  was  in  the  habit  of  taking  counsel  after  the 
first  Paris  Conference  in  1855. 


ASSOCIATIONS  IN  CONTINENTAL  EUROPE         369 

''Chosen  from  among-  ihc  most  active  and  well- 
known  workers  of  various  countries,  these  men,  the 
first  representatives  of  the  international  idea,  formed 
practically  the  first  international  committee,  though 
without  any  definite  organization." 

It  was  by  mutual  arrangement  agreed  that  the  con- 
vention for  1858  would  be  held  at  Geneva.  The  New 
York  City  Association,  which  had  held  aloof  from  the 
Confederation  at  home,  was  careful  to  state  in  refer- 
ring to  this  convention  (New  York  Report,  1859,  p. 
23)  :  "It  should  be  observed  that  the  resolutions 
adopted  by  the  Conference,  express  the  opinions  and 
beliefs  of  the  assembled  brethren,  but  were  not  de- 
signed to  bind  any  of  the  Associations  which  are,  in 
no  way,  responsible  for  their  views,  though  the  mem- 
bers generally  will  doubtless  gratefully  respond  to 
their  affectionate  counsels." 

All  plans  and  arrangements  for  the  conference  fell 
upon  the  entertaining  Association,  the  first  circular 
was  sent  out  December  1,  1857,  and  a  second  four 
months  later.  The  Geneva  Association  chose  the 
topics  to  be  considered.  Two  hundred  delegates  were 
present  from  ten  different  countries,  more  than  at- 
tended any  other  world's  convention  until  the  eighth, 
held  in  the  same  city  in  1878. 

The  conference  was  marked  by  a  most  cordial  hos- 
pitality and  many  opportunities  for  informal  acquaint- 
ance and  intercourse.  It  w^as  significant  less  for  im- 
portant enactments  than  for  cementing  bonds  of 
friendship  and  promoting  Christian  fraternity.  In 
this  the  spirit  of  the  Genevese  shone  forth  unexcelled. 

The  opening  session  was  indeed  impressive.  The 
stately  cathedral  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
delegates.  The  report  of  the  gathering  states,  "It 
was  an  appropriate  opening  for  the  conference  to 
meet  thus  in  this  magnificent  temple  in  which  three 
centuries  before  the  Reformers  proclaimed  the  truths 


370  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

of  the  Gospel."  The  evening  session  was  held  in  the 
most  spacious  hall  in  the  city  and  was  largely  at- 
tended by  the  general  public.  One  of  the  interesting 
incidents  was  a  brief  address  by  the  Honorable  Frank- 
lin Pierce,  ex-president  of  the  United  States,  who  was 
at  the  time  visiting  in  Switzerland. 

The  first  informal  gathering  w^as  held  in  an  exten- 
sive private  garden  where  the  two  hundred  delegates 
seated  in  a  large  circle  responded  to  the  call  of  the 
roll  by  nations.  The  social  gatherings  were  in  every 
particular  so  arranged  as  to  facilitate  the  main  pur- 
pose of  the  conference.  The  evening  of  the  second 
day  was  devoted  to  a  sail  on  Lake  Geneva.  The  boats 
were  illuminated  and  a  reception  was  given  on  the 
grounds  of  Count  Gasperin.  The  evening  session  of 
the  second  day  was  held  at  the  country  home  of  the 
president  of  the  Association,  Max  Perrot.  On  the 
morning  of  the  last  day  the  delegates  assembled  for 
breakfast  on  Mount  Saleve,  where  there  was  "much 
interchange  of  mirth  and  good  fellowship." 

An  incident  which  greatly  interested  the  conference 
was  the  discovery  by  one  of  the  delegates  of  a  rock 
inscribed  with  the  name  of  Voltaire  and  the  date  1758. 
Attention  was  called  to  the  statement  attributed  to 
Voltaire  that  in  a  century  Christianity  would  be  obso- 
lete, only  remembered  by  historians  and  students. 
One  of  the  delegates  to  show  the  folly  of  this  prophecy 
inscribed  on  the  same  rock  the  name  of  the  conven- 
tion and  the  date  1858. 

The  crowning  experience  was  the  solemn  close, 
thus  described  by  a  member  of  the  conference:  "In 
the  evening  the  delegates  had  the  privilege  of  assem- 
bling at  the  holy  table,  to  eat  together  the  Lord's 
supper.  What  solemn  hours  for  all  these  soldiers  of 
Christ!  What  moments  of  emotion  and  bliss!  How 
could  they  have  separated  in  a  manner  more  appro- 
priate to  their  vocation!" 


ASSOCIATIOXS  LV  CONTIXENT.U.  EUROPE         371 

Of  the  addresses  and  papers  at  the  convention,  the 
most  interesting  was  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone,  F.  R.  S., 
of  London,  brother  of  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Gladstone.  His 
topic  was  "Of  the  Need  of  Recreation  Natural  to 
Young  Men.  Should  the  Christian  Union  occupy  it- 
self with  this?  To  what  extent  can  it  satisfy  this 
want  ?" 

The  main  points  of  this  paper  have  already  been 
presented  under  the  discussion  of  recreation  and 
physical  training. 

The  emphasis  was  chiefly  regarding  amusements, 
little  reference  being  made  to  gymnastics  or  sports. 

Shipton,  with  more  breadth  than  he  sometimes 
showed,  spoke  of  the  need  of  drawing  young  men 
away  from  places  of  evil  resort.  He  said :  "Piety 
does  not  diminish  our  pleasures  but  sanctifies  them. 
.  .  .  We  should  provide  young  men  amusements  in- 
nocent and  useful."  One  of  the  delegates  from  Am- 
sterdam reported :  "A  recreation  we  allow  in  Holland 
is  tobacco.  We  smoke  together.  This  does  not  harm 
our  edification  at  all."  This  aroused  considerable 
amusement.* 

The  conference  adopted  the  following  resolution : 

*  This  traditional  hostility  to  smoking  has  pervaded  the  American 
Associations  north  of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line.  There  was  a 
vigorous  attempt  at  prohibition  in  the  Associations  in  the  northern 
states  up  to  the  time  of  the  great  war.  in  spite  of  the  use  of  tobacco 
by  some  of  the  leading  secretaries  and  laymen,  officers  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, and  by  many  of  the  members  in  their  other  clubs  and 
societies. 

Smoking  became  so  prevalent  in  the  War  of  1914-1918  amongst 
young  men  that  prohibition  became  ineffective  in  practically  all  of 
the  Associations.  It  was  then  limited  to  "smoking  rooms,"  social 
rooms,  or  certain  parts  of  the  building.  Smoking  has  never  been 
prohibited  in  the  railway,  industrial,  or  other  Associations  primarily 
for  working  classes.  If  smoking  were  a  moral  issue,  why  such 
deviations  in  policy?  The  modern  pre-war  practice  in  the  American 
Associations  apparently  was  to  fellow  the  lead  of  such  churches  as 
the  Methodist  which  had  restrictive  regulations,  rather  than  the 
practice  of  such  churches  as  the  Episcopal,  which  had  liberal 
practice. — R.  E.  L. 


212  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

"The  delegates  recognize  that  the  Associations  ought 
to  occupy  themselves  with  this  need  of  recreation, 
but  as  sanctifying  it — leaving  to  each  Association  a 
certain  liberty  to  choose  the  nature  and  the  mode  of 
recreation  according  to  national  taste  and  local  con- 
veniences." 

The  American  Associations,  as  already  recorded, 
took  at  the  convention  at  New  Orleans  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  1860,  the  first  definite  steps  toward  carrying 
out  this  idea,  but  their  plans  were  interrupted  by  the 
Civil  War. 

The  Geneva  Convention  listened  with  marked  in- 
terest to  a  report  of  the  great  religious  revival  which 
was  then  taking  place  in  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PERIOD 

Some  interesting  reflections  are  suggested  by  this 
reconstruction  of  the  life  of  the  Associations  of 
America  and  Europe  during  the  years  from  1855  to 
1861. 

In  the  first  place,  this  was  strikingly  a  laymen's 
movement — the  golden  age  of  the  volunteer  worker. 
This  has  been  less  and  less  true  of  the  whole  Associa- 
tion movement  up  to  the  present  time,  until  now  few 
national  or  international  names  of  laymen  stand  out 
above  the  Association  horizon.  The  leaders  in  great 
cities  or  countries  or  international  fields,  if  one  at- 
tempted to  name  them,  are  not  laymen  but  salaried 
officers  like  Shipton.  The  Langdons  in  America,  the 
Williamses  in  England,  the  Diirselens  of  Germany, 
and  the  Perrots  of  Geneva  are  largely  succeeded  by 
salaried  officials.  The  work  of  the  organization  has 
become  so  vast  and  so  technical  that  only  employed 
experts  who  give  their  entire  time  to  it  can  lead. 
Necessary  as  this  is  it  is  not  without  certain  dan- 
gers. For  it  is  imperative  that  the  authority  for  the 
policies  of  the  Association  should  be  vested  in  the 
hands  of  the  laymen.  The  laymen  interested  in  the 
Young  ]\Ien's  Christian  Association  should  study  the 
careers  of  Langdon  and  Williams  and  reassert  their 
position  in  the  organization.  This  is  of  vital  impor- 
tance if  the  organization  is  to  be  a  progressive  spirit- 
ual power.  The  layman  is  far  less  likely  to  institu- 
tionalize the  Association  or  to  make  it  an  end  in  itself 
instead  of  a  means  to  an  end.     In  all  the  s^-reat  crises 


574  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

of  this  period  the  laymen  decided  the  immediate  issue 
rightly.  It  is  true  that  the  Americans  were  diverted 
from  the  field  of  work  for  young  men  by  lay  leaders, 
but  the  more  important  issue  was  the  founding  of  an 
international  agency  of  supervision,  and  on  this  ques- 
tion their  judgment  was  unerring. 

They  were  equally  sound  on  the  great  question  of 
the  relation  of  the  Association  to  the  slavery  issue. 
The  Associations  of  1855-1861  lacked  the  splendid 
leadership  which  secretaries  have  since  given,  but 
they  demonstrated  the  value  of  laymen  in  Christian 
service. 

All  social  and  religious  movements  seem  to  face 
this  difficulty.  In  the  Hebrew  Theocracy  the  priest 
was  likely  to  make  ceremony  take  the  place  of  wor- 
ship and  in  the  Christian  Church  the  ecclesiastic  is 
always  in  danger  of  substituting  the  form  for  the 
spirit.  The  secretary  is  in  danger  of  mistaking  the 
means  for  the  end  and  thus  magnifying  the  institution 
instead  of  the  cause  it  was  intended  to  promote. 

The  layman  is  in  danger  of  overenthusiasm  and 
emotion  and  from  absorption  in  his  own  occupation 
is  often  unable  to  give  consecutive  time  and  effort. 
He  is  apt  to  be  narrow  and  superficial.  But  the  vol- 
unteer worker  is  in  a  more  detached  position  than 
the  employed  officer  and  so  capable  of  calmer  judg- 
ment. Progress  is  most  likely  to  be  secured  when  the 
employed  officer  originates  policies  which  must  be  ap- 
proved by  the  layman  who  should  have  final  author- 
ity. This  became  the  established  practice  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  America  be- 
cause of  the  experiences  of  the  pre-Civil-War  period. 

The  matter  of  next  importance  was  the  independ- 
ence of  the  local  Association.  This  development  we 
owe  to  the  sound  judgment  of  the  leaders  of  this 
period.  The  great  step  forward  was  establishing  the 
Central  Committee  as  an  agency  of  supervision.    This 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  375 

has  developed  in  recent  times  into  the  most  extensive 
world-wide  supervisory  body  in  existence.  Was  the 
American  International  Committee  to  become  a  gov- 
erning body  or  to  develop  as  the  servant  of  the  local 
Associations?  It  was  fear  of  centralization  and  par- 
ticularly that  the  committee  might  force  the  local 
Associations  to  take  a  stand  on  the  slavery  issue 
which  led  the  leaders  of  1855-1861  to  deny  all  author- 
ity to  the  Central  Committee  and  to  insist  upon  a 
purely  advisory  relationship. 

It  is  remarkable  how  this  release  from  the  burden 
of  bearing  authority  led  to  the  development  of  the 
Central  Committee.  In  later  years  no  other  agency 
had  the  needed  information,  no  other  body  had  the 
employed  officers,  the  necessary  funds,  or  the  promot- 
ing ability  to  plan  and  inaugurate  great  policies.  The 
relationship  has  been  one  of  advice  and  service.  In 
the  early  days  the  financial  problem  was  insignificant. 
In  recent  times  the  fact  that  the  employed  secretaries 
of  the  International  Committee  to  such  a  large  extent 
raise  great  sums  of  money  for  the  current  expenses  of 
the  committee  tends  to  lessen  the  control  by  the  local 
Associations.  The  agency  raising  the  money  for  any 
enterprise  usually  desires  to  control  its  expenditure. 
The  danger  is  that  while  theoretically  the  local  As- 
sociation is  independent,  practically  the  international 
group  of  able  experts  will  have  a  monopoly  of  the  in- 
formation and  influence  necessary  for  action. 

One  is  reminded  of  Herbert  Spencer's  remark  that 
the  regulative  agency  of  any  organism  tends  to  appro- 
priate advantage  to  itself  at  the  expense  of  the  other 
parts  of  the  organism.  Local  autonomy  concurrent 
with  central  efficiency  demands  a  proper  balance  in 
relationships  which  is  always  difficult  to  maintain. 
The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  estab- 
lished an  equilibrium  by  providing  for  an  advisory 
relationship.    By  this  method  the  local  societv  solicits 


376  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

the  help  of  the  supervisory  body  and  the  supervisory 
body  can  only  maintain  its  power  and  prestige  by  be- 
ing able  to  render  the  service  needed.  This  was  the 
great  contribution  of  this  period  to  the  American 
work.* 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  early  conventions 
refused  to  dictate  the  conditions  for  active  member- 
ship in  the  local  Association.  The  first  convention 
recommended  the  evangelical  Church  basis  but  voted 
that  to  enforce  this  was  a  matter  beyond  its  jurisdic- 
tion. The  second  convention  ruled  that  compulsion 
in  this  matter  by  a  convention  was  out  of  order  and 
contented  itself  with  a  recommendation.  This  was 
the  true  position  for  the  convention  to  take.  The 
Portland  Convention  of  1869  introduced  a  ground  of 
bitterness,  which  will  continue  until  it  is  removed,  by 
refusing  to  recognize  Associations  admitting  mem- 
bers of  Unitarian  and  Universalist  churches  to  active 

*  But  this  is  not  democracy.  Democracy  does  not  consist  in  inde- 
pendency of  the  local  individual  nor  of  the  local  group  of  individuals, 
otherwise  the  United  States  would  be  but  an  enormous  number  of 
unrelated  persons  or  neighborhoods  or  synthetic  classes.  Democracy 
is  a  system  of  relationships  whereby  the  whole  people  control  and 
the  whole  people  are  controlled.  This  pre-Civil  War  period  of 
confederation  has  contributed  a  condition  to  the  twentieth  century 
Associations  wherein  it  is  euphony  to  call  them  a  "movement"  ex- 
cepting on  special  occasions  or  for  special  causes.  The  Associations 
are  not  in  fact  a  democracy  either  locally  nor  nationally.  They  come 
nearer  being  a  bureaucracy  locally,  and  competing  principalities 
nationally,  tempered  by  benevolence,  humanity,  piety,  imitation,  and 
an  indomitable  purpose  to  succeed;  but  as  an  example  of  democracy, 
thej'  are  very  nearly  free  from  the  taint  of  either  pure  democracy  or 
representative  democracy.  The  American  Association  movement  still 
is  in  somewhat  similar  condition  to  the  colonial  federation  in  which 
the  various  colonies  had  such  a  maladjustment  and  poor  articulation 
that  the  nation  itself  was  flouted  from  within  and  without,  particu- 
larly from  within. 

The  Association  Movement  yet  awaits  that  unity  of  mind  and 
purpose  wherein  a  nationally  democratic  federation,  with  control 
from  the  bottom  up,  will  be  secured;  where  its  officials  will  be 
clothed  with  the  proper  supervisory  authority,  subject  to  definite 
controls,  and  where  the  local  units  must  assume  financial  responsi- 
bility.—R.  E.  L. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  377 

membership.  This  amounts  to  an  invasion  of  the 
autonomy  of  the  local  Association.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  basis  has  never  been  drastically  enforced. 
Numerous  college  Associations  have  bases  of  their 
own.  Other  Associations  evade  the  tests  by  subter- 
fuges. There  are  large  denominations  accepted  by 
the  Association,  such  as  the  Congregationalists,  who 
repudiate  the  doctrinal  statements  of  the  Portland 
test  and  are  thus  ineligible  if  the  test  were  carried  out. 

In  doctrinal  teaching  the  Associations  in  all  parts 
of  the  world  held  to  the  five  leading  evangelical  doc- 
trines stated  in  traditional  conservative  form.  They 
believed  in  the  deity  of  Jesus  and  worshiped  Him  as 
one  of  the  Trinity,  in  the  infallible  authority  of  the 
Bible  in  matters  of  doctrine,  in  the  fall  of  man  and 
the  substitutionary  view  of  the  atonement.  God  ac- 
cepted repentant  sinners  l)ecause  Jesus  died  on  the 
cross.  They  believed  in  eternal  punishment  for  the 
wicked  and  that  salvation  was  redemption  not  only 
from  sin  but  from  eternal  torment.  These  doctrines 
were  in  no  way  originated  by  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  but  were  taught  by  the  churches 
which  most  of  the  members  attended.  The  great  re- 
vival of  this  period  in  America  was  possible  because 
of  this  general  unanimity  of  belief.  Dr.  Thomas  \V. 
Chalmers  in  his  volume  on  "The  Noon  Prayer  Meet- 
ing" (p.  54)  states,  "All  .  .  .  concurred  in  the  belief 
that  men  are  lost  by  nature,  that  salvation  is  freely 
offered  to  them  through  the  blood  of  the  cross,  and 
that  it  is  the  province  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  convert 
them  to  the  believing  reception  of  the  gracious  pro- 
vision thus  made." 

He  gives  an  account  of  a  lawyer  who  had  formerly 
regarded  Jesus  as  a  great  teacher  who  testified  (p. 
102)  :  "I  did  not  think  of  Him  as  the  Crucified,  as 
bearing  my  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree,  as  suf- 
fering the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  He  might  luring  us 


378  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

to  God,  as  wounded  for  our  trangressions  and  bruised 
for  our  iniquity  and  the  chastisement  of  our  peace 
being  upon  Him.  I  am  here  a  sinner  hoping  I  have 
been  pardoned  through  Him  as  my  Saviour/'  With 
the  acceptance  of  these  statements  of  behef  so  uni- 
form it  is  the  more  surprising  that  the  conventions 
did  not  insist  on  an  evangehcal  Church  test  for  active 
membership,  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
great  anxiety  of  the  leaders  was  to  estabhsh  the  Con- 
federation and  secure  recognition  by  the  local  Asso- 
ciations of  the  Central  Committee.  It  may  be  added 
that  outside  of  New  England  the  conservative  view 
was  so  dominant  that  no  enforcement  of  belief  seemed 
necessary. 

The  attitude  toward  the  Catholic  Church  was  quite 
generally  hostile.*  In  the  second  New  York  Report 
(p.  9),  the  corresponding  secretary,  C.  A.  Davidson, 
and  President  Howard  Crosby  speak  approvingly  of 
the  Catholic  Association  at  Cork,  Ireland.  The  re- 
port states: 

"A  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  also 
been  recently  started  in  Cork,  Ireland,  under  the  aus- 
pices of  Roman  Catholic  young  men. 

"We  regard  this  movement  with  great  interest,  for 
although  much  of  error  is  mingled  with  the  faith  of 
this  body,  yet  we  trust  the  efforts  of  these  young  men 
to  attain  the  end  proposed  in  their  constitution  will 

*  The  Association  of  course  inherited  the  anathemas  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  against  Protestantism  and  has  always  been  the  recipient 
of  the  latent,  and  sometimes  the  open,  opposition  of  the  Catholic 
hierarchy.  Strangely  contrasted  with  this  is  the  very  large  use  made 
of  the  facilities  of  the  modern  Associations  by  Catholic  young  men 
generally.  The  eagerness  and  appreciation  with  which  they  made 
use  of  Association  privileges  seem  to  be  only  intensified  by  the 
opposition  of  certain  high  Catholic  authorities. 

Many  of  the  Associations  have  studiously  avoided  all  efforts  at 
proselyting  and  are  only  anxious  to  help  the  Catholic  young  men 
in  their  membership  to  become  better  examples  of  the  high  ethical 
teaching  of  their  own  Bible  and  Church. — R.  E.  L. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  379 

be  crowned  by  the  blessing  of  heaven.  Our  hope  is 
strengthened  by  the  following  extract  from  their  con- 
stitution. 

"  'The  object  of  this  society  is  the  mutual  improve- 
ment and  the  extension  of  the  spirit  of  religion  and 
brotherly  love. 

"  'The  means  adopted  will  be  prayer,  frequentation 
of  the  sacraments,  public  lectures,  a  library,  and  read- 
ing room.  Meeting  for  public  prayer  shall  be  held  on 
one  evening  in  every  week  and  it  shall  be  compulsory 
on  every  member  to  attend  such  meetings  at  least 
once  a  month.'  " 

This  attitude,  however,  was  not  the  one  taken  in 
London,  where  the  ninth  report  of  the  Association 
states  (p.  58),  "It  is  not  with  unmingled  regret  that 
your  committee  notice  that  the  Cork  Branch  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  to  contend 
against  an  efficiently  organized  Roman  Catholic 
Young  Men's  Christian  Society  which  has  been  re- 
cently formed.     It  has  already  500  members." 

This  pre-Civil-A\^ar  period  saw  the  beginning  of  em- 
igration to  America  on  a  large  scale  from  Roman 
Catholic  countries,  particularly  from  Southern  Ire- 
land. It  was  during  this  period  that  anti-Catholic  so- 
cieties arose  and  the  "Know-Xothing"  party  had  its 
brief  history.  There  were  few  if  any  Catholic  as- 
sociate members  in  the  Association.  The  general 
feeling  in  the  American  Associations  was  probably 
voiced  in  the  report  of  President  Crosby's  predeces- 
sor, O.  P.  ^Voodford.  He  said  (First  New  York  Re- 
port, 1853,  p.  11)  :  "It  is  w^ell  for  lis  to  remember  that 
there  is  another  Association  which  takes  to  itself  the 
name  of  Jesus.  .  .  .  Its  influence  upon  the  world  has 
been  great  for  it  has  had  and  still  has  its  branches  in 
almost  every  country — its  activity  is  ceaseless,  its 
ambition  boundless.  Cut  off  from  the  ordinary  sym- 
pathies of  our  nature,  its  members  thirst  for  power. 


380  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

and  leave  no  means  untried  for  its  attainment.  Pain- 
ful as  it  is  for  us  to  contend  against  any  who  bear  the 
name  of  Christ,  we  must  contend  against  them,  as 
enemies  of  the  best  interests  of  mankind.  Upon  them 
the  most  odious  tyrannies  of  the  civilized  world  seem 
to  rest.  .  .  .  They  deny  to  the  people  the  precious 
word  which  God  has  given,  with  the  special  injunc- 
tion that  they  shall  search  it  to  avoid  error  and  to 
find  salvation.  .  .  .  Ignorance,  immorality,  oppres- 
sion, and  decay  are  the  inheritance  of  the  people 
whom  they  control.  They  are  the  agents  of  a  poten- 
tate who  claims  to  sit  paramount  over  priests  and 
kings  and  they  sustain  his  claims  secretly  or  openly 
with  ceaseless  vigilance.  .  .  .  The  presence  here  of 
an  active  band  of  priests  who  owe  allegiance  to  a 
foreign  prince  and  who  allow  no  toleration,  no  Bible, 
no  freedom  of  thought,  no  protest  against  persecu- 
tion we  regard  as  a  dangerous  element." 

In  a  later  report  of  the  London  Association  (Eight- 
eenth Report,  London,  1863,  p.  25)  it  is  stated  that 
"the  idolatrous  Church  of  Rome  is  extending  its  influ- 
ence over  the  masses  of  the  people,  adding  new  attrac- 
tions to  those  by  v/hich  it  has  hitherto  sought  to  en- 
trap the  unwary  and  pressing  with  persistent  zeal  for 
recognition  by  the  State  and  support  from  the  public 
funds  of  the  country.  .  .  .  Those  twin  sisters.  Infidel- 
ity and  Romanism,  thus  strengthened  in  themselves, 
find  free  course  for  their  machinations  through  the 
supineness  of  a  nation  which  ov/es  its  all  of  position 
and  privilege  and  its  liberties  civil  and  religious  to 
the  Bible  and  the  Protestant  faith." 

These  statements  from  London  and  New  York 
show  the  prevailing  attitude  of  intense  Protestantism 
and  unfriendly  feeling  toward  the  Catholic  Church 
on  the  part  of  most  Association  leaders.  There  has 
been  a  recrudescence  of  this  feeling  since  the  great 
World  War.    This  has  been  aroused  in  Europe  by  the 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  381 

activity  of  the  Association  in  the  newly  created 
states  on  the  continent  which  has  called  out  protests 
from  Catholic  prelates.* 

In  America  the  Knights  of  Columbus  have  in- 
creased the  tension  by  unfriendly  acts  and  propa- 
ganda. The  Pope  has  issued  a  bull  denouncing  the 
Association  as  a  dangerous  organization.  This  situ- 
ation is  quite  unlike  that  which  prevailed  during  the 
World  War  and  for  a  number  of  years  prior  in  Amer- 
ica. The  adoption  of  the  fourfold  program  for  the 
development  of  the  whole  man  in  body,  mind,  and 
spirit  made  the  Association  buildings  attractive  to  all 
classes  of  young  men.  Catholic  young  men  were  wel- 
comed as  associate  members  in  large  numbers.  They 
came  as  "beneficiaries"  not  as  "participants"  into  the 
Association.  No  attempt  was  made  to  proselyte  and 
a  most  harmonious  relationship  existed  not  toward 
the  Roman  Church  but  toward  young  Catholic  lay- 
men. This  developed  during  the  World  War  often 
into  fellowship  and  friendship  which  unfortunately 
have  waned  considerably  since. 

During  the  period  from  1855  to  1861  the  Associa- 
tions were  strongly  Protestant  in  their  feeling  and 
thoroughly  conservative  in  their  doctrinal  teaching. 

On  the  continent  in  the  French-speaking  area  the 
young  men  with  Christian  aspirations  were  sur- 
rounded with  such  an  unfriendly  environment  that 
their  instinctive  longing  for  fellowship  and  mutual 
encouragement  linked  them  together,  wdiile  in  Ger- 
many social  cleavage  between  classes  assured  that  a 
work  for  journeymen  apprentices  would  not  encroach 
on  any  other  field.     In  America  the  New  York  and 

*  These  protests  only  seem  to  have  intensified  the  desire  of  those 
European  peoples  to  domesticate  the  Association  amongst  them. 
The  Association  has  no  incHnation  to  warfare,  it  does  not  set  itself 
chiefly  to  credal  or  dogmatic  propaganda.  Its  main  object  is  service 
of  its  fellowmen  in  what  it  conceives  to  be  the  Master's  spirit. — 
R.  E.  L. 


382  YOUNG  ME.VS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

Buffalo  Associations  were  the  only  large  organiza- 
tions which  persisted  in  limiting  their  efforts  to  young 
men.  The  revival  swept  the  great  body  of  Associa- 
tions into  its  current  and  made  them  laymen's  so- 
cieties for  general  evangelism.  It  is  conceivable  that 
Christian  young  men  of  ardent  zeal  might  be  banded 
together  for  such  a  purpose  and  that  they  might  de- 
velop a  permanent  organization.  This  was  practi- 
cally Dwight  L.  Moody's  idea  for  the  Association.  It 
is  very  doubtful,  however,  if  such  an  organization 
would  have  been  more  than  ephemeral.  Such  an  aim 
is  too  transient  in  character  and  such  a  society  would 
constantly  conflict  with  the  work  of  the  ministry. 

While  the  American  Associations  failed  in  defining 
the  field  of  the  Association  they  were  all  unanimous 
in  insisting  that  its  aim  was  purely  religious.  There 
was  but  one  clearly  defined  aim.  This  was  to  win 
young  men  to  accept  Jesus  as  their  Saviour.  All 
"secular"  agencies  were  of  an  inferior  character  and 
should  be  eliminated  whenever  they  ceased  to  pro- 
mote this  aim.  There  was  little  or  no  conception  of 
the  unity  of  personality  or  the  unity  of  life.  The  body 
was  only  the  home  of  the  soul  during  its  brief  period 
of  probation  on  earth  and  as  a  source  of  temptation 
was  to  be  controlled  and  kept  under.  Libraries  and 
educational  classes  were  expensive  and  only  to  be  in- 
troduced where  necessary  and  always  to  be  made  sub- 
ordinate to  the  religious  work. 

Recreation  was  grudgingly  admitted  to  be  neces- 
sary to  youth  but  should  be  employed  only  if  it  could 
not  be  otherwise  secured,  and  then  only  guardedly. 
The  conception  of  the  Association  as  an  agency  for 
the  cultivation  of  Christian  manhood  later  cham- 
pioned by  McBurney  and  defined  by  Gulick  was  un- 
known. But  for  the  development  of  this  larger  and 
broader  program  the  historian  must  conclude  that 
the  Association  movement  w^ould  never  have  evolved 


CIIARACrEUlSTlCS  OF  THE  PERIOD  383 

into  an  inipijrtant  organization  or  made  any  distinc- 
tive contribution  to  religious  life  or  thought.  It  was 
this  new  social  ideal  evolved  in  America  and  pro- 
moted by  the  American  International  Committee 
that  gave  the  Association  fresh  vigor  and  power,  that 
made  the  American  movement  preeminent,  that  led 
large  numbers  of  devoted  men  to  become  employed 
officers.  It  was  this  conception  that  made  the  Amer- 
ican type  of  work  sought  after  by  leaders  in  mission 
helds  and  later  engrafted  the  American  ideal  of  As- 
sociation endeavor  upon  the  Associations  of  the  Old 
World. 

This  broad  conception  of  religious  work  as  an  effort 
to  develop  the  whole  man  has  transformed  religious 
endeavor  in  the  churches.  It  is  in  sharp  contrast  with 
the  ascetic  ideal  of  religion  and  is  slowly  substituting 
the  social  ideal  in  its  place.  Religious  education,  rec- 
reation, and  social  service  have  become  the  program 
of  the  modern  community  church.  These  ideas  found 
their  first  expression  in  the  xA.ssociation  which  has 
pioneered  them  in  the  face  of  relentless  opposition 
both  from  within  and  from  without  its  membership.* 

In  1857  Darwin  published  his  "Origin  of  Species." 

*  The  conviction  will  grow  upon  the  intelligent  reader  of  these 
pages  that  almost  elaborate  efTorts  were  made  during  this  period  of 
the  Association's  history,  on  the  part  of  the  ultra-conservative  and 
ofttimes  reactionarv^  element,  to  capture  and  control  this  new  society. 
The  religious  progressives  of  the  day  under  review  in  Germany, 
Great  Britain,  and  America,  did  not  dominate  the  organization. 
Langdon  was  the  saving  element  in  the  United  States,  and  the  genial 
spirit  of  George  Williams  in  England  softened  the  avowedly  dog- 
matic position  of  the  British  Associations.  Their  formulated  docu- 
ments were  very  much  less  responsive  than  were  their  personal  and 
organized  relationships  to  the  need  of  young  men. 

The  student  will  examine  with  keen  appreciation  the  saving  influ- 
ences which  brought  the  American  Associations  along  with  the 
intelligence  of  the  times  and  achieved  the  process  of  freeing  them 
ultimately  from  the  good,  but  it  must  be  said  in  frankness,  unedu- 
cated leaders  who  too  often  attempted  to  control  them. 

The  standardization  of  the  educational  process  within  them,  the 
founding  of  colleges  for  the  education  of  the  secretarial  statY,  the 


384  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

This  appeared  unnoticed  by  Association  leaders  but 
the  doctrine  of  evolution  was  destined  to  change  the 
temper  of  religious  thought  and  create  an  atmosphere 
in  which  a  new  conception  of  man,  of  nature,  of  the 
Bible,  and  of  God  would  grow.  The  physical  uni- 
verse was  seen  to  be  subject  to  law.  It  was  soon  rec- 
ognized that  the  spiritual  nature  of  man  was  equally 
subject  to  the  laws  of  the  same  God.  Religious  edu- 
cation, conceived  of  as  the  development  of  the  entire 
personality  in  all  its  powers  of  body,  mind,  and  spirit, 
became  the  program  of  the  Association — evolution 
applied  to  the  expanding  life  of  the  individual. 

Froebel  and  Pestalozzi  introduced  into  education 
the  idea  that  its  aim  should  be  the  development  of 
the  entire  personality.  The  Association  was  the  first 
agency  to  make  use  of  this  conception  in  religious 
work.  This  was,  however,  brought  about  empirically 
by  the  method  of  trial  and  error;  the  survival  of  the 
fittest.  There  was  no  conscious  philosophy  of  the 
movement,  the  leaders  had  no  plan  of  working  for 
the  development  of  the  entire  personality  and  leading 
the  individual  into  social  service.  The  Associations 
that  did  this  succeeded  and  the  philosophy  of  the 
movement  was  formulated  afterwards.  It  was  the 
new  Association  which  arose  after  the  American  Civil 
War  which  developed  this  new  program.  Those  so- 
cieties which  adopted  it  survived  and  grew;  the  others 
disappeared.  The  progressive  Associations  secured 
employed  officers,  property,  and  members.  The 
purely  evangelistic  societies,  based  on  the  narrower 
conce'ption  of  personality  and  the  ascetic  view  of  re- 
fact  that  hundreds  of  these  units  are  in  universities  and  colleges 
where  the  stream  of  thought  flows  more  freely  and  is  less  often 
dammed  up  of  purpose,  and  the  increasing  desire  of  the  Association 
to  serve  the  unprivileged  as  well  as  the  privileged  classes,  will  bring 
the  movement  forward  out  of  narrow  beginnings  into  a  great, 
progressive,  Christian  society,  devoted  to  the  commonwealth  of 
God.— R.  E.  L. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  385 

ligion,  were  burdened  with  debts,  were  without  sec- 
retaries or  property,  and  found  few  supporters. 

We  must  pay  tribute  to  the  sincerity  and  far-reach- 
ing influence  of  the  leaders  of  the  Confederation 
period.  They  were  endeavoring  to  do  a  purely  re- 
ligious work  but  they  builded  better  than  they  knew. 
In  permitting  the  so-called  secular  agencies  even  a 
subordinate  place  they  were  laying  foundations  for 
the  broader  educational  program  of  later  years.  They 
were  discovering  the  vital  needs  of  }()ung  men  and 
learning  how  to  develop  personality. 

The  Christian  college  was  seeking  to  give  the  same 
development  in  a  more  intensive  way  to  the  young 
men  who  could  devote  four  or  more  years  to  living 
under  its  regime.  The  American  college  seeks  to 
develop  the  whole  man  in  body,  mind,  and  spirit,  and 
train  him  for  citizenship.  The  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  of  today  seeks  to  render  in  a  more 
popular  way  this  same  service  to  the  vast  multitude 
of  young  men  who  cannot  attend  college.  The  Asso- 
ciation has  become  the  all-round  educational  agency 
including  religious  training  for  the  young  man  in 
daily  life  instead  of  a  purely  evangelistic  agency. 

The  leaders  of  this  period  developed  the  interna- 
tional organization  and  laid  the  local  foundations 
which  are  making  this  idea  possible. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  Association  was  founded 
and  continued  until  1861  upon  an  ascetic  ideal  of  re- 
ligion, a  conservative,  dogmatic,  and  traditional  theol- 
ogy, and  the  conception  of  personality  implied  in  ihe 
doctrine  of  "total  depravity."  Evolution  was  to  give 
a  new  conception  of  the  evolving  spirit  from  child- 
hood to  manhood.  Upon  this  foundation  the  Asso- 
ciation was  to  construct  its  new  i)rogram  of  religious 
education  for  the  training  of  the  whole  personality. 
The  social  awakening  was  to  give  a  new,  deeper,  and 


386  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

broader  idea  of  service  which  was  to  embrace   the 
whole  of  life  and  all  human  relationships. 

Upon  this  foundation  the  Association  was  to  build 
its  program  of  social  service  which  was  destined  to 
influence  the  work  of  the  Church  and  all  agencies  for 
human  betterment  throughout  the  world.  How  this 
new  type  of  Association  arose  will  be  told  in  the  story 
of  the  American  Associations  following  the  Civil 
War. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  I  FOR  PART  I. 


Chronology    of    the    Youxg    Men's    Christian 

ASSOCIATIOX    FROM   THE    BiRTH   OF   GEORGE 

Williams  to  the  Adoption  of 
THE  Paris  Basis. 

182 1.     Birth  of  George  Williams,  Ashway  Farmhouse. 
1834.     Bremen    Jiinglings-Verein,    founded  by  Pastor 
Mallet. 

1836.  George  Williams  enters  the   Holmes    Business 

House  at  Bridgewater. 
Barmen    Jilnglings-Verein,   founded    by    K.    F. 

Klein. 
George  Williams'  conversion. 

1837.  Prayer   meetings    inaugurated   by  Williams    in 

the  Holmes  House,  Bridgewater. 

1838.  Elberfeld  Verein,  founded  by  Anton  Haason. 

1841.  Williams  enters  the  Hitchcock  establishment  in 

London. 

1842.  (London)    Prayer  meetings  established  by  Will- 

iams and  others  in  the  Hitchcock  establish- 
ment. 
1844.     (London)    Prayer   meetings  established   in   the 
Owen  House. 

May  31.  (London)  Meeting  to  consider  organi- 
zation. 

June  6.  {London)  Organization  0/  London  Yo?(ng 
Men^s  Christian  Association. 

(Summer)  Fortnightly  meetings  held  at  Ludgate 
Hill  Coffee  House ;  headquarters  established 
at  Radlev's  Hotel. 


390  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

1844.  November   8.      First  "Tea  Gathering"  of  the 

London  Association  at  Radley's  Hotel  (Black 
Friars  Bridge). 

1845.  January.     (London)   T.    H.    Tarlton   appointed 

missionary  to  young  men. 

Branch  Association  formed  in  West  End. 

Evangelistic  Bible  class  established  for  Sunday 
afternoons. 

February.  First  public  religious  service  for 
yoimg  men. 

March  6.  Second  "  Tea  Gathering  "  at  Radley's 
Hotel. 

(Summer)  Headquarters  removed  to  Sergeant's 
Inn,  No.  14  Fleet  Street.  Mr.  Bevan  made 
President ;  Mr.  Hitchcock  chosen  Treas- 
urer. 

November  6.  First  Anniversary  gathering  held 
at  Radley's  Hotel. 

Intellectual  agencies  established. 

December  6.     First  popular  lecture  delivered. 

1847.  January  i.     First  New  Year's  Address  issued  by 

London  Society. 
July.     First   Bulletin   published   by   the  West- 
phalian  Vereine. 

1848.  August.     First  Conference  of  Verein  leaders  at 

Elberfeld. 

October.  Westfalischer  Jiinglingsvereins-Bund 
formed  at  Elberfeld. 

(London)  Apartments  opened  in  Gresham 
Street ;  social  agencies  established  by  Lon- 
don Associations,  and  associates  admitted  tc 
Association  privileges. 

United   States — Cincinnati    Society   of   Inquiry 
formed. 
1850.     December.     E.  W.  Shipton  appointed  Secretary 
by  the  London  Societj'. 


APPENDIX  I.  391 

185 1.  The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  becomes  President  of 

the  London  Association. 

October  30.  Van  Derlip  letter  published  in  Bos- 
ton. 

December  9.     Montreal  Society  formed. 

December  29.  Boston  Association  formed  ;  act- 
ive membership  limited  to  members  of  Rvan- 
gelical  Churches. 

1852.  March  19.     Paris  Association  founded    by  Pas- 

teur Cook. 

May  28.     New  York  Association  founded. 

June  29.     Washington  Association  founded. 

October.  First  proposal  of  an  American  Con- 
federation made  by  Chauncy  Langdon. 

December  i.     Geneva  Association  founded. 

1853.  Sub-district  organizations  formed  in  Westphalia. 

1854.  R.  C.  McCormick  sent  by  the  New  York  Asso- 

ciation as  a  delegate  to  Associations  in   Eu- 
rope. 
June  7.     Buj0falo  Convention. 

1855.  January    15.      American     Confederation     com- 

pleted. 
August  20.     Paris  Convention  convened, 
August  22.     Paris  Basis  adopted. 


APPENDIX  II  FOR  PART  I. 


General  and  association  literature 


I.   Sociological  and  Religious. 

TJhlhorn. — Die    christliche     Liebesthatigkeit.      Stuttgart.      I.    Bd. 

AlteKirche,  18S2  ;    II.  Bd.,  Mittelalter,  1884;    IIL  Bd.,  Seit  der 

Reformation,  1890. 
Nathusius. — Die  Mitarbeit  der  Kirche  an  der  Losung  der  socialen 

Frage.     Leipzig,  1895. 
Roscher. — System  der  Volkswirthschaft.     V.  Bd.,  Die  Armenpflege 

und  Armeupolitik.     2.  Auflage,  339  Seiten.     Stuttgart,  1894. 
Fisher,  Geo.  P. — History  of  the  Christian  Church.    New  York,  1887. 
Hase,   Ch. — History  of   the  Christian   Church.     (English   Edition.) 

New  York,  1886. 
CarrolL — Religious  Forces  in  the  Uni*^ed  States.     New  York,  1894. 
Annals  of  the  Low  Church  Party.     II.  Vol.     London,  1888. 
Overton. — English  Church  in  the  XIX.  Century.     London,  1894. 
Hurst,  Bishop. — History  of  Rationalism.     New  York,  1865. 
Allen,  J.  H. — Modern  Phases  of  Church  Historj'.     Boston. 
Cutt. — Turning  Points  in  Church  History.    (English.)    London,  1889. 
Tulloch.  —  Religious  Thought  in  Britain  in  XIX.  Century.       New 

York,  1885. 
Church,  R.  W.— The  Oxford  Movement.     London. 
Strong,  Josiah. — Our  Country.     New  York,  1891. 
Strong,  Josiah. — The  New  Era.     New  York,  1893. 
Ely,  R.  T.— Social  Aspects  of  Christianity.     New  York,  1889. 
Ely,  R.  T.— The  Labor  Movement  in  America.     New  York,  1886. 
Loomis,  Sam'l  L. — Modern  Cities.     New  York,  1887. 
Booth,   Gen.  W. — In  Darkest  England  and  the  Way  Out.     London, 

1890. 
Barnett,  S.  A.  and  H.  O. — Practical  Socialism.     London,  1888. 
Hodder,  Edwin. — Life  and  Work  of  the  Seventh  Earl  of  Shaftesbury. 

London,  1892. 
Riis,  J. — How  the  Other  Half  Lives.     New  York,  1890. 
Wolf,  E.  J. — The  Lutherans  in  America.     New  York,  1889. 


APPENDIX  If.  393 

McTyiere,  H.  N. — History  of  Methodism   (in  America).      Nashville, 

Teun.,  1S84. 
McCouuell,  G.  D. — History  of  the  American  Episcopal  Church.     New 

York,  1S90. 
Dyer,  Henry, — The  Evolution  of  Industry,  London,  1895. 
Spencer,  Herbert. — A  System   of  Synthetic  Philosophy.     Vols.  VI, 

Vn.     The  Principles  of  Sociology.     New  York,  1891. 
Erdmann.J.  E. — A  History  of  Philosophy.     Vol.   HI.     New  York, 

1892. 
Kidd,  Benj. — Social  Evolution,  New  York,  1894. 
Drummond,  H.  C. — The  Ascent  of  Man.     London,  1894. 
Fremantle,  \V.  H. — The  World  the  Subject  of  Redemption.     New 

York,  1892. 
Traill. — Social  England,  New  York,   1893. 
Toynbee. — Industrial  Revolution.     Loudon. 
Stearne,  Edward,   (ed.) — The   Religious  Condition  of  Christendom. 

A  report  to  the  Oecumenical  Council  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance, 

held  at  London,  1S46.     London,  1848. 
Stearne,  E.— The    Religious  Condition  of  Christendom.     II.  Report 

of  Alliance  held  at  London,  185 1.     London,  1853. 
Stearne,  E. — The  Religious  Condition  of  Christendom.    III.  Report 

of  the  Alliance  held  at  Paris,  1855.     London,  1857. 
The   Religious   Condition  of  Christendom,     IV.  Report  of  Alliance 

held  at  Berlin,  1S57.     London,  1859. 
The  Religious   Condition  of  Christendom.     V.   Report  of  Alliance 

held  at  Geneva,  1861.     London,  1862. 
The  Religious   Condition  of  Christendom.     VI.  Report  of  Alliance 

held  at  Amsterdam,  1867.     London,  1868. 
Schaff,    Phillip. — The   Religious   Condition   of  Christendom.     VII. 

Report  of  Alliance  held  at  New  York,  1873.     New  York,  1874. 

11.   AssocL\TioN  Literature,  1844-1855. 

I.     International  :  English,  French,  German. 

I.  Report   of  World's   Conference  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 

ciation held  at  Paris,  1855.     Paris. 

II.  Report   of  World's   Conference    of  Y.  M.  C.  A.  held  at  Geneva, 

1858.     Geneva. 

III.  Report  of  World's  Conference,  London,  1862.     London. 

IV.  "  "  "  Elberfeld,  1865. 

V.  "  "  "  Paris,  1867.     Paris. 

VI.  "  "  "  Amsterdam,  1872.    Amsterdam, 

VII.  "  "  "  Hamburg,  1875. 

(Die  innere  Mission  unter  der  mannlichen  Jugend.     Halle.) 


394  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION 

VIII.  Report  ofWorld's  Conference,  Geneva,  1878.     Geneva. 

IX.  "  "  "  London,  18S1.     London. 

X.  "  "  "  Berlin,  1884.     Berlin. 

XI.  "                "                  "  Stockholm,  1888.    London. 
XIII.           "                "                  "            London,  1894.     London,  1894. 
Fermaud,  Ch.  (ed.) — Fifty  Years'  Work  Among  Young  Men  in  AU 

Lands,  1844-1894.     London,  1894. 

2.    German. 
(a.)     huicr  Mission. 

Oldenberg,  F.— Johann  Heinrich  Wichern,  sein  Leben  und  Wirken 

Hamburg,  1882. 
Wichern,  J.  H. — Die  innere  Mission.     Hamburg,  1889. 
Augener. — Die  Herbergen  zur  Heimath  und  die  Vereinshauser  in 

ihrer  socialen  Bedeutung  fiir  die  Gegenwart.     Leipzig,  1869. 
Schafer.  Theo. — Leitfaden  der  inneren  Mission.     Hamburg,  1893. 
Lehmann. — Die  Werke  der  Liebe.     Leipzig,  1893. 
Seyfarth. — Werberufe  fiir  die  Arbeit  der  inneren  Mission.     Leipzig, 

1894. 
Perthes. — Das  Herbergswesen  der  Handwerksgesellen.     2.  Auflage. 

Gotha,  1883. 
Chalmers. — Die  kirchliche  Armenpflege.     Berlin,  1847. 
Hesekiel. — Die  Armenpflege  in   der  Gegenv.art.     Verhandlung  des 

XXII.  Kongresses  fiir  innere  Mission.     Bremen,  1881. 
Phillips. — Schlechte  Wohnungsverhaltnisse,  eine  Quelle    der    Un- 

sittlichkeit.     Berlin. 
Lehmann. — Die  Stadtmission.     Leipzig,  1875. 

(b.)    Junglings-  Vercine  und  Christliche  Vcreine  juvger  Manner. 

Meyeringh. — Ein  Wort  an  und  iiber  Jiinglings-  und  Gesellen-Ver- 

eine.     Hamburg,  1858. 
Meyeringh. — Der  Jugend  Not  und  Hilfe.     Zur  Geschichte  der  Jiing- 

lingsvereine.     Berlin,  1861. 
Korner,  R. — Die  evangelischen  Jiinglingsvereine  ;   ihre  Bedeutung 

und  Winke  zu  ihrer  Begriindung  und  Belebung.     Berlin,  1874. 
Krummacher,  K.— Fragen  und  Antworten  iiber  evangelische  Jiing- 
lingsvereine.    Elberfeld,  1880. 
von  Ranke,  Otto.— Die  evangelischen  Jiinglingsvereine  in  Deutsch- 

land;    ihre  Aufgabe   und   ihre  Bedeutung  fiir  die    Gegenwart 

Berlin,  1887. 
Hesekiel,  J. — Die  Mission  an  den  Jiinglingen.     Berlin,  1864. 
Komitee  des  Rheinisch-Westfalischen  Jiinglingsbundes. 

Sechs  Tage  im  August  1865.     Elberfeld,    1866. 


.■1PPEXD1X  II.  395 

Jordan,    O. — Die   innere   Mission    untpr   der    ni?\nn]ichen    Jugend 

Halle,  1875.     (134  Seiteu.) 
Krummacher,  K. — Die  evangelischen  Jiinglings-Vereine  in  den  ver- 

schiedenen  Lilnderu  der  Erde.     Giitersloh,  1881. 
Tiesmeyer,  L. — Die  Praxis  der  Jiinglings-Vereiue.     Bremen,  1890. 
vou  Gertzen,  D. — Die  Jiinglings-Vereine  in  Deutschland.    Heilbronn, 

1886. 
Schwanbeck. — Die  Jiinglings-  und  Jungfraueu-Vereine.    Gotha,  1890. 
Krummacher. — Lel)ensl)ilder  von  Freunden  und  Forderern  der  evan- 
gelischen Jiinglings-Vereiue.     Elberfeld,  1882. 
Krummacher. —  Die   evangelischen    Jiinglings-Vereine.      Elberfeld, 

1894. 
Seidel. — Die  evangelischen   Manner-   und  Jiinglings  Vereine  Sach- 

sens.     Dresden,  18S5. 
Monatlicher    Anzeiger    des    Christlicheu  Vereins    junger    Manner. 

Berlin,  1883-1S95. 
Jahresbericht   des  christlichen  Vereins  junger   Mi-uner   zu  Berlin, 

1883-18S4. 
Jahrbiicher,  1885-1894. 

3.    British. 

Wilson,  W. — Life  of  William  Kiffin.     London,   1632. 

Woodward,  J. — Account  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Religious 
Societies  in  the  City  of  London.     London,  1698. 

Campbell,  J. — Memoirs  of  David  Nasmith.     London,  1844. 

Shipton,  E.  W. — The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  Lon- 
don :  its  History,  Object  and  Development.     London,  1864. 

Stevenson,  G.J. — Historical  Records  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  1844-1884.     London,  1884. 

Cox,  F. — Our  Young  Men.     A  Prize  Essay.     London,  1838. 

Annual  Reports  of  the  Central  London  Association,  I.-LI.  London, 
1844-1895. 

Reports  I  and  II,  published  in  November,  1844,  and  March,  1845,  by 
London  Association. 

Occasional  papers,  I-VI.,  published  by  London  Association,  1853-1856. 

I.  English  Union.     Report  of  the  National  Council.     London,  1884. 

II.  "              "  "  "           "  "  "  "        1885. 

III.  "               "  "           "  "  "  "        1886. 

IV.  "               "  "           "  "  "  "        1887. 

V.  "               *■  "           "  "  "  '89-'9o.     '90. 
Year  Book  for  1891.  London,  1891. 

"         "       "     1892.             "  1892. 

"         "       "    1893-1894.  "  1894. 

Periodicals  of  the  Central  London  Association,  on  file  at  Exeter 
Hall,  London. 


396 


YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 


Quarterly  Messenger,  1863-1872. 
The  Young  Men's  Magazine,  1875-1879. 
Monthly  Notes,  1879-1S85. 
Association  News,  1886-1895. 

4.     American. 

Williams,  H.  L. — The  Lives  andLaborsof  the  American  Evangelists, 
D.  L.  Moody  and  Ira  D.  Sankey.     London,  1875. 

Daniels,  W.  H. — D.  L.  Moody  and  His  Work.     London,  1875. 

Chambers,  T.  W.— The  Noon  Prayer-Meeting  of  the  North  Dutch 
Church,  Fulton  Street,  New  York.     New  York,  1858. 

Moss,  S. — Annals  of  the  United  States  Christian  Commission.  Phil- 
adelphia,  1868. 

Ninde,  H.  S.;  Bowne,  J.  P.;  Uhl,  E.  (comp.) — Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  Hand-book.     New  York,  1892. 

Lowry,  Samuel. — Sketch  of  the  Progress  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  in  North  America.     Cincinnati,  1868. 

Russell,  Chas.  M. — Address  before  the  Boston  Association  in  1852. 
(On  file  in  Springfield  Association  Library.) 

Ferris,  I. — Address  at  the  organization  of  the  New  York  Associa- 
tion, May  28,  1852.     (Springfield  Library.) 

Lord,  D. — Address  at  opening  of  the  New  York  Association  rooms, 
September  20,  1852.     (Springfield  Library.) 

Langdon,  W.  C. — The  Early  Story  of  the  Confederation.  New  York, 
1888. 

I.  Report   of  the   Annual   Convention   of  the   Y.  M.    C.  A.    of  the 

United  States  and  British  Provinces,  held  at  Buflfalo,  1854.   Wash- 
ington, 1854. 

II.  Report   of  Convention  held  at  Cincinnati,  1855.   Cincinnati,  1856. 
III. 
IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII. 


Special  " 

VIII.  &  IX.  Reports   of  Con. 
X.  Report   of  Convention 
XL 
XH. 
XIII. 
XIV. 
XV. 
XVI. 
XVII. 
IvVIII. 


Montreal,  1856.  Washington,  1856. 
Richmond,  1857.     Buflfalo,  1857. 
Charleston,  1858.  "         1858. 

Troy,  1S59.  Richmond,  1859. 
New  Orleans,  i860.  Phila.,  i860. 
New  York,  1861.  N.  Y.  1866. 
Chicago,  '63,  Boston,  '64.  Bos.  '64. 
Philadelphia,  1865.  Phila.,  1865. 
Albany,  1866.  New  York,  1866. 
Montreal,   1867.  "  1867. 

Detroit,  1868.  "  1868. 

Portland,   1869.  "  1869. 

Indianapolis,  1870.       "  1870. 

Washington,  1871.       "  1871. 

Lowell,  1872.  "  1872. 

Poughkeepsie,  1873.    "  1873. 


APPENDIX  II.  W 

XIX.  Report  of  Convention,  held  at  Dayton,  1874.       New  York,   1874. 

XX.  "                    "                     "         Richmond,  1875.  "  1875. 

XXI.  "                    "                    "         Toronto,  1876.  "  1876. 

XXII.  "                    "                     "         Louisville,  1877.  "  1877. 

XXIII.  Year  Rook  for  187S,  Con.  at  Baltimore,  1879.  "  1879. 

XXIV.  Report  of  Conven.  held  at  Cleveland,  1881.  "  1881. 

XXV.  "  "  "  Milwaukee,   1883.        "  1883. 

XXVI.  "  "  "  Atlanta,  1885.  "  1885. 

XXVII.  "  "  "  vSan  Francisco,  1SS7.  "  1887. 

XXVIII.  "  "  "  Philadelphia,  1889.    "  1889. 

XXIX.  "  "  "  Kansas  City,  1891.      "  1891. 

XXX.  "  "  "         Indianapolis,  1893.     "  1893. 

XXXI.  "  "  "         Springfield,  1895.        "  1895. 
Annual  Reports  of  the  Boston  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  I.-XLIII.     Boston,    1853- 

1895- 
Annual  Reports  of  New  York  City  Association,  New  York,  1853-1895. 

"  "         "  "  State  Committee,  New  York,  1867-1891. 

"  "         "  Pennsylvania    Committee,    Pittsburg,  1869-1891. 

"  "         "  Ohio  Committee Cleveland,   1867-1895. 

Year  Books  of  the  Associations,  1878-1895,  New  York. 
Reports  of  the  Conferences  held  by  the  Railroad  Associations. 

I.  Cleveland,  1877;  New  York,  1877; 

II.  Altoona,      1879;  "  1879; 

III.  St.  Thomas,  Ont.,  18S2  ;  "  1882; 

IV.  Milwaukee,  1886;  "  1886. 

Mott,  J.R. — Progress  of  the  Intercollegiate  Movement.     Cleveland, 

1892. 
Mott,  J.  R. — Report   of  the   Executive   Committee    of  the  Student 

Volunteer  Movement.     New  York,  1891. 
Moorhead,    M.    \V.     (ed.)  — The     Student     Missionary     Enterprise. 

Boston. 
Brown,  I.  E. — Young   Men's  Christian  Association  Buildings.     Chi- 
cago, 1894. 
Book  of  Association  Buildings.     Chicago,  1894. 
Periodicals  issued  by  the  American  International  Committee. 

Quarterly  Reporter,  1856- 1858. 

Christian  Journal,  1859-1860. 

Association  Quarterly,  1867-1870. 

Association  Monthly,  1870-1873. 
The  Watchman.  Chicago,  1S74-1890. 
Young  Men's  Era.     Chicago,   1890-1895. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  FOR  PART  II 

"The  Story  of  My  Early  Life"  (1831-1857)— William  Chauncy 
Langdon. 

(In   typewritten    form    in   the   Historical    Library,    International 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  College.) 

First  Annual  Report  of  the  Washington  Young  Men's  Christian  As-. 
sociation,  1854,  75  pp. 

Young  Men's  Magazine — Editor,  Richard  C.  McCormick,  New  York, 
1857-1859. 

"The  Origin  and  De%-eIopment  of  the  Student  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  Movement  in  North  America" — (Thesis  in  type- 
written form  by  Clarence  P.  Shedd,  1914,  6?)  pp.,  Clark  Univer- 
sity). 

"The  Intercollegiate  Department" — (Thesis  in  typewritten  form  by 
John  D.  Stehman,  1901,  International  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  College). 

"Historj-  of  the  North  American  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions"— R.  C.   Morse,  Association   Press,   New  York,   1913,  290 

PP- 

"The  Life  of  Sir  George  Williams" — J.  E.  Hodder  Williams,  Asso- 
ciation Press,  New  York,  1915,  358  pp. 

"My  Life  with  Young  Men,  Fifty  Years  in  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association" — R.  C.  Morse,  Association  Press,  New  York, 
1918,  547  pp. 

"Fifty  Years'  Work  Among  Young  Men  in  All  Lands" — Published 
at  Exeter  Hall,  Strand,  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the 
Jubilee  in  London,  June,  1894,  326  pp. 

"Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney" — L.  L.  Doggett,  International  Com- 
mittee, Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  New  York  City, 
1902,  280  pp. 


INDEX 

Amkric  AN  Christianity — Rclatiort  to  state  in  colonial  period,  81 — 
Three  periods  before  1851,  82 — The  founding  of  the  American 
churches,  82-85 — The  "Great  Awakening,"  85 — Separation  of  church 
and  state,  87 — Reorganization,  89 — Expansion,  90 — Divisions  over 
slavery,  92 — Church  societies,  92-94 — Strength  of,  95 — Characteristics 
of,  96 — Puritan  Metliodist  influences,  96 — Divisions  over  slavery, 
200. 

American  Coxff.dkration — Spread  of  movement,  125 — Early  inter- 
communication, 125 — McCormick's  tour,  126 — Langdon's  contribution, 
127 — The  leadership  of  the  Washington  Association,  128-129 — Lang- 
don  as  corresponding  secretary,  129 — A  national  union  proposed, 
130 — Opposition  from  Howard  Crosby  and  the  New  York  Associa- 
tion, 131^Buffalo  Convention  (1854),  134 — Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, 136 — Difficulties  over  slavery  issue,  203.  256 — Fear  of  central- 
ized authority,  132,  134,  256 — Powers  of  the  "Central  Committee," 
259 — Establishment  completed,  260 — Efforts  to  perfect  the  confedera- 
tion, 260 — The  servant  not  the  master  of  the  local  organization,  261- 
262 — Value  to  the  peri)etuation  of  the  Association,  270 — Weakness 
of  migratory  headquarters,  329 — British  desire  for  representative 
supervision,  350. 

Amusements — Proposed  by  Wni.  J.  Rhees,  235,  274 — Value  of 
wholesome  environment,  275 — Resolutions  defeated,  275 — Games 
listed  as  furniture,  277 — Regarded  as  subordinate  and  expensive, 
277 — Urged  by  Reecher  at  Boston,  306 — Mild  resolutions  of  approval, 
306 — Urged  by  Gladstone  at  Geneva  (1858),  331 — Opposition,  333 — 
Shipton  opposes  amusements,  345 — Geneva  resolution  adopted,  372 — 
Recreation  discredited,  382. 

Associate  Membership — In  England  beneficiaries  not  members, 
56— In  Boston,  116. 

Associ.A.TiON  Polity — London  Constitution,  40 — Secretary  ap- 
pointed, 45 — West  end  branch,  45 — Number  of  officers  increased.  47 — 
Associates  admitted,  56 — Principles,  57 — New  branches,  76 — Basis  of 
recognition  of  a  branch,  76 — Provincial  branches,  77-78 — Boston  con- 
stitution. 116-117 — The  committee  system,  117 — The  evangelical 
basis,  115-116 — Characteristics  of,  130 — Langdon  proposes  a  federa- 
tion, 130 — Independence  of  the  local  Association,  1.34.  261-262 — Arti- 
cles of  Confederation,  136 — In  Germany,  158-159 — For  World 
Alliance,   177.     (See  American  Confederation.) 

Beaumont,  Edward — Led  into  Christian  life  by  George  Williams, 
37 — Letter  describing  Williams'  proposition  to  organize  an  Associa- 
tion, 38. 


402  INDEX 

British  Christianity — The  Low  and  High  church  parties,  16,  17, 
19 — The  Non-Conformists,  18 — The  Oxford  movement,  21 — Strength 
of  (1851),  22. 

Constitution — London  Association  (1844),  40 — Name,  object, 
management,  meetings,  democratic  character,  conditions  of  member- 
ship, dues,  40-41 — Boston,  116-117 — Articles  of  American  Confedera- 
tion, 136— First  form  of  World  Alliance,  177. 

Continental  Associations — Attitude  toward  state  church,  141- 
142 — The  German  church — Rationalism  and  Pietism,  144-147 — The 
Inner  Mission,  146-149 — The  Association  a  part  of  Inner  Mission, 
149. 

Crosby,  Howard — Sketch,  250. 

Dunant,  Henri — Leader  in  the  Swiss  movement,  356-359. 

Economic  Depression — Effect  on  the  prosperity  of  the  Associa- 
tion, 216. 

Evangelical  Basis — Both  personal  and  church  test  adopted  in 
first  constitution,  41 — Church  test  dropped,  49 — Control  in  hands  of 
Christian  men,  57-76,  78,  113 — Controversy  at  Boston  between  ortho- 
dox and  liberal  churches,  114-116 — Evangelical  church  test  adopted, 
116 — Alembership  test  a  local  matter,  139 — German  Associations  on 
Christian  basis,  160 — Officers,  but  not  members,  subject  to  test,  160 — 
Paris  basis,  177 — Langdon  at  Cincinnati  Convention  rules  legislation 
on  test  out  of  order,  262,  265,  266 — Difificulties  with  Unitarians  at 
Springfield  and  Worcester,  267-268 — American  Associations  ratify 
the  Paris  basis,  267 — Conventions  refuse  to  legislate,  2)76 — Uniform- 
ity of  belief,  378. 

Geneva  Association — Religious  leadership  of  Geneva,  162,  354 — 
Early  work  for  young  men,  162 — Founding  of  the  Association,  164 — 
Conservative  doctrinal  attitude,  317-318,  360-361— Convention  of 
1858,  331,  368— The  leading  continental  Association,  355,  360— Early 
activities,  358 — World  interest,  359. 

Gladstone,  J.  H.— Presents  topic  on  recreation  and  physical  train- 
ing, Geneva,  1858,  331;  at  Leeds,  1859,  331. 

Gladstone,  Dr.  Thomas  H. — At  the  Montreal  Convention,  272 — 
Tour  of  the  American  Associations,  309,  321 — Of  the  German  Asso- 
ciations, 364-367. 

Hitchcock,  George — Sketch,  336 — A  school  friend  of  Williams' 
brother,  32 — Receives  George  Williams  into  his  employ,  ii — Led 
into  active  support  of  Christian  work,  27 — Importance  of  his  sup- 
port, 37— Describes  the  work  to  W.  D.  Owen,  a  silk  merchant,  i7— 
Contributes  toward  first  secretary,  45 — Fits  up  first  headquarters  at 
Sergeant's  Inn,  46— Elected  treasurer,  1845,  47— Encouraged  the 
"early  closing  movement,"  53 — Wanted  Godly  employes,  54 — Finan- 
cial support  to  the  Association,  72). 

Home  of  London  Association — Hitchcock  establishment.  June, 
1844,  39— Ludgate  Hill  Coffee  House,  41;  Radley's  Hotel,  42;  Ser- 
geant's Inn,  Fleet  Street,  1845,  46;  Building  on  Gresham  Street, 
1848,  56. 

Industrial  Revolution — Relation  to  the  founding  of  the  Associa- 


INDEX  403 

tion  in  England,  23-24 — Moral  results  in  America,  27,  97,  105-106 — 
Relation  to  growth  of  the  city,  100 — In  Germany,  149 — Proving  char- 
acter of  apprentices,  150. 

Langdon,  Wm.  Chauncy — Estimate  of  his  services,  127,  227-228, 
270,  298 — Appointment  to  the  patent  office,  219-222— His  family, 
220 — Attempts  to  earn  his  way  through  college,  222-224 — Financial 
success,  219,  224 — Religious  impression,  220,  224 — Views  on  slavery, 
229 — Views  on  the  true  aim  of  the  Association,  247,  268,  327 — Con- 
troversy with  Stuart,  248 — An  organizer  of  the  Washington  Asso- 
ciation, 129 — Corresponding  secretary,  129 — Proposes  a  national 
federation,  129 — Efforts  to  found  the  Confederation,  130-137 — Oppo- 
sition from  Crosby,  132 — Urges  system  of  world-wide  correspond- 
ence, 172 — First  secretary  of  the  Central  Committee,  254 — Regarded 
the  slavery  issue  as  the  turning  point  in  founding  the  Confederation, 
257 — Regards  the  Central  Committee  as  advisory  in  character,  258, 
261 — Union  a  spiritual  bond,  259 — Reports  and  other  papers  out- 
lining the  philosophy  and  history  of  the  Association,  261,  266 — De- 
termines to  resign  as  secretary,  262-263 — President  of  Cincinnati 
Convention,  265 — Declares  legislation  on  evangelical  test  out  of 
order,  266 — Conservative  views,  268 — Appointed  delegate  to  the 
European  Associations,  272 — Becomes  foreign  secretary  of  Central 
Committee,  286 — Opposes  the  diverting  of  the  Association  into 
general  evangelistic  work,  288-289,  294 — Controversy  over  true  field 
of  the  Association  at  Troy  Convention,  287,  295-297 — Stands  alone 
at  Troy  Convention,  298 — Begins  European  tour,  322 — Enthusiasm 
for  Christian  unity,  322 — Advocates  Confederation  for  British  Asso- 
ciations, 2)23 — Visits  German  Associations,  324 — Tour  of  British 
Associations,  325 — Becomes  a  critic  of  American  Associations,  328 — 
McBurney's  tribute,  270. 

LowRY,  Samuel — Sketch,  239. 

McCoRMiCK,  R.  C. — Sketch,  252 — Tours  the  Associations  of 
Europe,  126. 

Membership  Basis — London  first  constitution,  41 — Requirement 
of  church  membership  dropped,  personal  test  retained,  49— Asso- 
ciates admitted,  56 — Personal  test  of  conversion  accepted  by  all  Brit- 
ish Associations,  76,  78,  113 — Associates  exceed  members,  78 — Con- 
troversy at  Boston  over  evangelical  church  basis,  115 — Evangelical 
church  test  adopted,  116-117 — Conditions  of  membership  a  local 
matter,  130 — Church  basis  recommended  by  Buffalo  Convention, 
139 — No  test  required  in  Germany,  160 — Management  must  be  Chris- 
tian, 160. 

Miller,  H.  Thane — Sketch,  242. 

Modern  City,  The — Its  relation  to  the  founding  of  the  Associa- 
tion, 23 — Origin  of,  23-24 — Increase  in  population  and  wealth,  25 — 
Home  of  young  men,  29 — Efforts  for  uplift,  30 — Movement  in 
America  from  country,  99 — Population  of  American  cities,  1790- 
1850,  100 — Young  men  in  cities,  101 — Young  of  foreign  birth,  102 — 
Moral  influences,  105-106. 


404  INDEX 

Nekf,  William  H.— Sketch,  329. 

Object  of  the  Association — First  constitution,  the  spiritual  im- 
provement of  commercial  young  men,  40 — Mental  improvement 
added  to  constitution,  49 — Social  resort  established,  56 — Boston  con- 
stitution states  spiritual  and  mental  improvement,  116 — Social  fea- 
tures, 118 — American  convention  advocates  general  religious  work, 
138 — German  effort  for  young  working  men,  151,  157 — Paris  basis, 
177. 

Origin  of  the  American  Associations,  The — Period  of  local 
effort,  107 — Uncertainty  as  to  true  aim,  107 — The  Nasmith  move- 
ment, 108 — The  Cincinnati  young  men's  society,  109 — The  Montreal 
Association,  110— The  Van  Derlip  letter,  110-113— J.  V.  Sullivan  the 
founder  of  the  Boston  Association,  114 — The  controversy  between 
orthodox  and  Unitarian  denominations,  114-115 — Constitution  of  the 
Boston  Association,  118-119 — Additions  to  constitution,  118 — First 
rooms,  119 — Tremont  Temple,  121. 

Origin  ok  the  Association — Condition  of  young  men  in  London, 
1844,  33-35 — Williams  proposes  to  organize  an  Association,  38 — 
Meeting  to  organize,  39 — Constitution  adopted,  40 — Name,  object, 
organization,  conditions  of  membership,  40-41 — First  circular,  41 — 
Object  restated,  42. 

Paris  Basis — The  convention  called  at  Paris,  1855,  175 — Monnier 
proposes  first  draft,  176 — Final  form,  177 — Ratified  by  Cincinnati 
Convention,  315 — Strengthened  conservative  attitude,  316 — Influence 
of,  319. 

Periods  in  Association  History,  15. 

Physical  Training — First  suggested  by  Wm.  J.  Rhees,  1856, 
235 — Introduced  at  the  Montreal  Convention,  274 — Influence  upon 
Association  development,  27A — Resolutions  defeated,  275 — Argu- 
ments for,  276 — Urged  at  Boston  by  Beecher,  306 — Chapin  resolu- 
tion adopted  New  Orleans,  1854,  306 — Classified  as  recreation,  306 — 
Presented  at  the  Geneva  Convention  by  Gladstone,  1858,  331 — Ship- 
ton  opposes  swimming  contests,  344 — Geneva  resolution  adopted, 
372— Attitude  toward  the  body,  382. 

Protestantism  as  Contrasted  with  Roman  Catholicism,  15,  17. 

Relation  of  Association  to  the  Church— England,  1844,  22. 

Religion  as  a  Social  Force,  10-13 — Parties  in  the  British  Church, 
17-18— New  spirit,  20. 

Religious  Work — In  business  house,  37 — First  aim  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, 38,  40,  42 — Regarded  as  the  chief  work  of  the  Association,  44. 

Revival  of  1857-1858,  107 — Union  Tabernacle  Movement  at  Cin- 
cinnati, 243 — The  Jayne's  Hall  meetings  at  Philadelphia,  245 — Diverts 
the  Association  from  its  field,  249 — Origin,  289-291— Characteristics, 
289 — Activity  of  the  Association,  282-283 — Results  in  new  aims,  new 
associations,  and  new  leaders,  284-285 — Opposition  of  Langdon,  289 — 
Influence  on  founding  Student  Association,  299 — Theological  basis, 
Z77. 

Rhees,  William  J. — Sketch,  232 — Liberal  attitude,  233 — First  to 


INDEX  405 

propose  physical  tniiiiiiiK,  2^5-27A — Did  not  support  Langdon  at 
Troy,  236. 

Roman  Catholic  Chukch  Comparkd  with  Protestant,  15 — In 
Great  Britain  four  per  cent  of  population,  17 — Geneva  Association 
hostile,  361 — Attitude  of  Associations  toward,  379-381. 

"Secretarialism,"  349. 

Shh^ton,  W.  Edwyn — Attitude  toward  intellectual  and  social 
work,  70-71 — Leader  in  world's  work,  167— Prepared  first  historical 
sketch,  167 — Active  at  Paris  Convention,  169 — In  charge  of  world 
corresix)ndence,  173 — Sketch,  343-352. 

Si.AVhJtv  LssuK — Efforts  to  eliminate  it  from  the  Association,  132, 
175,  191,  196— Trouble  over  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  193-194,  196— 
Agitation  in  the  New  York  Association,  195-196 — Attitude  of  South- 
ern Associations,  199,  258— Northern,  197-198,  258— At  the  Paris 
Convention,  200 — Difficulties  in  preserving  the  Confederation,  203, 
257 — Policy  of  neutrality,  209-211 — Langdon's  temperate  attitude, 
229 — Crosby's  opposition,  132 — Fear  of  disruption  over,  256. 

Smith,  J.  Christopher — Williams'  roommate,  36 — Gives  name  to 
Association,  40 — Wrote  first  circular,  53. 

Social  Basis  of  the  Association,  9-13. 

Social  Spirit  in  Religion,  20. 

Social  Work — Condon,  71 — Boston  emphasized  social  resort,  118. 

Stuart,  George  H. — Sketch,  244. 

Tarlton,  T.  H. — Duties  of  first  officer,  44 — A  layman  chosen  as 
first  missionary,  January,  1845,  45 — Extends  the  Association,  46— 
Inspiring  speaker,  53 — Bible  teacher,  59 — Assists  in  organization  of 
provincial  Associations,  77 — Interest  in  world's  work,  167 — Delegate 
at  Paris  Convention,  169 — Favors  plan  of  correspondence,  173,  and 
Paris  basis.  176— Sketch,  341-342. 

Williams,  George — Early  life,  31 — Conversion  and  Christian  work 
at  Bridgewater,  31 — Unites  with  the  Independents  (Congregation- 
als),  32 — Employed  in  the  Hitclicock  establishment,  London,  33 — 
Conditions  in  London,  1841,  36 — Secures  J.  Christopher  Smith  as 
roommate,  36 — Christian  work  for  associates,  37 — Proposes  forming 
an  Association,  1844,  38. 

Work  for  the  Whole  Man — Beginning  of  intellectual  work,  1845, 
47 — Reasons  for  "secular"  agencies.  48 — Constitution  adds  "mental" 
improvement  as  one  of  the  aims,  49 — Statement  by  Gulick  regarding 
all-round  development,  51 — Intellectual  work,  67-70 — Social,  71-72 — 
Physical  Training,  235.  274.  275.  276.  306,  372— Amusements,  274, 
275,  277,  306,  372,  382— The  broader  conception,  383— The  new  ideal, 
384. 


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